Every Trump lie of voter fraud has been disproven.
Every QAnon prediction has failed to come to fruition.
Despite this, millions of people still wait for the next drop, clinging on to the never-ending promise of an incoming revelation or "storm."
How do we break this spell?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I wonder if the best approach is the one used to get people out of cults.
It’s not to berate them or tell them they’re crazy, but to remind them of who they were before this. People who break out of cults usually have family pull them out.
I don’t like being simplistic and saying it’s racism so we can't reach out. It’s not just that. There are also good, non-racist people being misled by personalized disinfo bubbles on Facebook.
Maybe compassion really is the best approach? Just don't know how to do that at scale.
Of course, combatting disinformation itself is key to limiting new recruits, but I don’t think just addressing that will do it because a lot of these people have been radicalized, so they’ll seek it out themselves.
There has to be a human outreach aspect to this too.
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I think people who are acting like the fact this race is close (electorally, not in the popular vote) because Dems failed to reach out to certain voters are underestimating the fact Trumpism is built entirely on disinformation & grievance.
There are bigger issues here to tackle.
Biden spoke to working families and struggling Americans. Trump's closing message was that COVID is over, Black people will invade your suburbs, & we should lock up his enemies.
Don't tell me this is a messaging issue. This is a cultural problem of warring values and realities.
We critique campaigns but dodge the uncomfortable fact that America has a crisis of decency & critical thinking.
We have a giant empathy gap and a shameless propaganda machine that upholds a fake, dark version of reality.
THAT is the problem. The question is how do we fix it?
1) Lie about voter fraud in mail-in ballots. 2) Push base to vote in person. 3) Slow down mail so fewer ballots received by Nov 3. 4) Falsely declare victory on Nov 3. 5) Challenge ballots counted after Nov 3 in SCOTUS.
I think it'll fail.
Trump undermined this strategy by telling on himself.
He announced his USPS sabotage and why he appointed Barrett.
Dems responded with HUGE early turnout, getting mail ballots in early and voting in-person.
Wide Dem margins and/or early Biden red state leads would thwart this.
On top of that, the media won't play ball. In 2000, Gore had to deal with the perception he lost because the media reversed the Florida projection. That hung over his recount efforts.
That won't happen. Media and social media is prepared for Trump's false declaration of victory.
While in Michigan, one week after radical right terrorists were arrested for plotting to kidnap and do an extrajudicial execution of Governor Whitmer, President Trump attacks Whitmer and then echos a “lock her up” chant.
This is vile, disgusting, authoritarian depravity.
Saying “don’t be afraid of Covid” is the exact opposite of what he should be saying to the country right now. This man is reckless. After getting this virus he's taking it even less seriously. Absurd.
There is absolutely nothing that can happen to Donald Trump to make him have a moment of decency. Nothing.
Just because he has access to the best care in the country doesn’t mean the rest of America does. What a dangerous, foolish message to send to the Americans.
This horrifying piece confirms my theory that Trump attacked mail in voting to get his base to vote in person so he could declare victory the night of the election & claim the delayed, mostly Dem tallies are fraudulent. But it may have backfired and Dems are now voting in person.
The early in person voting lines is why I think Trump’s mail-in voting lies and attacks on the USPS backfired.