More from @MollyMcKew

Molly McKew

@MollyMcKew

27 Jan

Today’s indictment of Ricky Vaughn for *2016* election interference efforts — that were well documented already in public domain — really makes you wonder what else Bill Barr was sitting on

Serves as notice though that this is criminal. More coming.

justice.gov/opa/pr/social-…

More evidence of connections between Brexit info ops and pro-Trump info ops:

justice.gov/opa/press-rele…

No real shocker here that Vaughn and his ilk hung around with white nationalists and other racists. Explicitly targeting minority voters.

Read 4 tweets

Molly McKew

@MollyMcKew

27 Jan

@BulletinAtomic

In revealing the annual #DoomsdayClock, @BulletinAtomic highlights the proliferation of conspiracies and the consistent eroding of scientific truth as an escalating concern in how we respond to crisis.

Yet, somehow, they leave the 2021 doomsday clock unchanged. /1

https://twitter.com/bulletinatomic/status/1354447233576546306

The official reveal: /2

https://twitter.com/bulletinatomic/status/1354447233576546306

Lots of focus from speakers about the anticipated policy shifts a Biden admin heralds, and the need for US leadership in climate, health, arms control discussions. /3

Read 12 tweets

Molly McKew

@MollyMcKew

22 Jan

@anneapplebaum

@anneapplebaum @RadioFreeTom I think maybe you can both be right — a bit. Perhaps you will both forgive a semi-long explanation.

Anne — very grateful for this contribution, precisely bc it removes the problem from the “nothing can be done” category & points out that plenty of places have done this before /1

@anneapplebaum

@anneapplebaum @RadioFreeTom Also *we* have done this before. Throughout the civil war, Lincoln was obsessed with things infrastructure and national symbols (Thanksgiving Day, etc), knowing that eventually it would all have to be physically and mentally knit back together.
/2

@anneapplebaum

@anneapplebaum @RadioFreeTom I also worked in Liberia just after the end of the long civil war, & saw how effectively some of the tools you describe in your thoughtful piece worked. Especially the overall “change the subject” idea. For the first time for a whole generation, they could be something else /3

Read 20 tweets

Molly McKew

@MollyMcKew

22 Jan

A short thread on *ssholes & conspiracies:

We all know amplification of conspiracy theories — usually in the form of a question — by right wing media has become standard fare to harden views.

“Can we be SURE Clinton didn’t kill Seth Rich?” Etc. (Note: she didn’t) /1

“How do we KNOW Chavez didn’t use Dominion to steal the election from beyond the grave?” (Note: because he’s dead FFS)

Posing it as “questions that need to be answered maybe” allows them to evade responsibility for what they are doing. It’s standard fare. /2

Why do I raise this?

So you may remember when Notre Dame burned in April 2019 — a tragic accident. Online conspiracy theories immediately flourished. One claimed the fire was an act of Islamic terror. Many right wing personalities amplified this lie. /3

Read 10 tweets