this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2024
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politics

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Disinformation is the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, whether to extract profit or to advance a political agenda. Its unwitting accomplice, misinformation, is spread by unknowing dupes who repeat lies they believe to be true. In America today, both forms of falsehood are distorting our perception of reality.

In a democracy, the people need a shared set of facts as a basis to debate and make decisions that advance and secure their collective interests. Differences of opinion, and even propaganda, have always existed in the United States, but now, enemies of democracy are using disinformation to attack our sovereign right to truthful information, intellectual integrity, and the exercise of the will of the people. Online disinformation is particularly insidious because of its immediacy, its capacity to deceive, and its ability to reach its target.

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[–] Ekybio@lemmy.world 67 points 8 months ago (33 children)

Conservatives never have facts and reason on their side, so they just drop them and stop caring for reality.

Speaking the truth and being right-wing are always mutually exclusive!

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[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 44 points 8 months ago (51 children)

Right wing disinformation is tearing America apart.

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[–] hark@lemmy.world 36 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's the disinformation alright, but it's the disinformation from billionaires dividing us so they can get away with all the wealth while we fight for scraps. The call is coming from inside the house.

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 23 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This is it. I have been chastised for suggesting that many social problems are red herrings to distract us from the one true problem, that it's us versus them. Until that problem is solved, nothing else can be.

[–] 4grams@awful.systems 8 points 8 months ago (2 children)

it drives me nuts, I've got formerly lefty friends who drifted right due to disillusionment with their pet issue. one began their drift via the antivax movement, their personal grudge against the medical system has them now embracing every far right conspiracy out there. so yeah, I believe folks find what they seek, and those who are doing the pulling have figured out the exact temperature of smoke to blow up people's asses.

[–] SexWithDogs@infosec.pub 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If you can't turn someone red, just make them a single issue voter.

Voting blue can hurt sometimes as a gun-owning Texan, but I do what I must. I didn't always have that mentality.

[–] 4grams@awful.systems 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

serious question, why does it hurt? I'm not a gun owner but I don't see much that the left is doing that is actually endangering your rights. I do see a lot of fearmongering from the right but as far as I can tell it's entirely bloviating. I mean, the bluest of blue areas still have extremely liberal gun laws and what I see being proposed from the left is more or less common sense reforms. Obviously there are outliers but I don't see that agenda having much success. In fact, I have some very strong gun rights friends who are entirely and proudly progressive.

[–] SexWithDogs@infosec.pub 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I hang out in enough blue spaces to see the cries for renewed bans on particular styles of guns. A lot of the stuff I own in Texas would already be a felony to own in NY and Cali.

There also appears to be a variety of definitions for "common sense" gun laws, and it seems to depend largely on an individual's locality. Universal background checks is a no-brainer, but I'd like to keep my semi-auto rifle and standard capacity mags.

Besides, everyone knows it's actually handguns that are responsible for a vast majority of violent crimes involving firearms, which potentially makes them next up on the chopping block once the precedent is set by the first ban of a style of firearm that's rarely used in violent gun crimes rarely in comparison.

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[–] TengoHipo@lemm.ee 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It’s usually feelings over facts. Or I just love when they tell you to Google it. Then you do and prove them wrong and then they tell you that’s the wrong site lol Republicans really made the uneducated loud and annoying.

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

My dad was trying to tell me that the COVID vaccine is dangerous, so he googled it, sent me a blog with the Google link in it, then got upset when I found that the source that blogger used said "those who are able to be vaccinated help those who cannot be vaccinated." This was all because of my and my wife's request to get the vaccine to meet our 3 month old.

He didn't like that I did actual research on his partisan blog to prove him wrong.

[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 17 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

People have a desire to be correct in their beliefs, and they have found comfort in disinformation instead of having to change or reflect on dated world views.

They aren't being tricked, they actively seek and embrace the disinformation.

[–] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Counterpoint: idiots who never question things they want to hear are tearing America apart.

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[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago
[–] knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

For it to work, people first need to be uneducated and indoctrinated. That's the real issue.

[–] WoahWoah@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

This is simply not true, and this kind of belief--that misinformation only works on "other people"--is part of the problem.

[–] Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Shouldn't have made propaganda legal then, fuckers.

[–] ArtVandelay@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

I guess you can't put the blame on that on one individual person, but if you could it would be Ronald fucking Reagan.

[–] General_Effort@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

When routine bites hard and ambitions are low

And resentment rides high but emotions won't grow

And we're changing our ways, taking different roads

Then disinformation will tear us apart again

[–] DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)
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[–] ohlaph@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago
[–] hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The irony of this being posted on Lemmy.

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[–] turkishdelight@lemmy.ml 3 points 8 months ago

My popcorn is ready.

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