Thread by @anatosaurus

I know it feels like all fun and games with the eat dogs comment. That it is so obviously ridiculous that repeating it exposes how heinous Trump is and thus moves voters away from him. But there's no evidence to support this claim, and plenty refuting it. 🧵

First, if showing voters who Trump is were going to work, it would have worked. "Grab 'em by the pussy," mocking a disabled reporter, full page ad on the Exonerated 5, and on and on would have kept him out of White House in 2016.

Every time we've tested, in surveys, RCTs and dozens of focus groups, "Trump is..." statements are always less effective than "Trump will do..." Focusing on his agenda - and how it will harm YOU the listener and voter is what moves the conflicted and undecided.

Things about Trump's "character" (to be generous) are largely baked in - folks know who he is. What's novel is his AGENDA - what he will do and, critically, how this will impact YOU.

Equally critical, repeating terrible odious things lends credence to them because of a strong cognitive bias known as the illusory truth effect.
washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/…

When something feels familiar to us, our brains exert less energy to process it. We default to what Kahneman called System 1, or automatic processing. Our brains like that! This makes such statements feel more true to us.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Next, imagine how it feels to the targets of this vile blood libel to hear it repeated over and again, even from allies - in the form of memes and jokes? I don't think any of us want to be surrounded by lies about our own people, perhaps especially as jokes/memes from allies.

When I was growing up in WI, I was asked in all seriousness if I had horns. This is how well-worn this absurd claim about Jews was to a bunch of kids from Superior.

All this to say - I am so sorry for the hatred and disgusting lies being spewed at Haitians, and any new immigrants. Moving to make a better life for your family is one of the absolute hardest things humans do.