Trump didn’t actually say that. At least People Magazine claims he didn’t say that. But if he had said it back in 1998, he would have been incredibly prescient. Why?
Because according to a recent poll taken by The New York Times/Siena College…
100% of Republicans who consume Fox News and other conservative media intend to support Donald Trump in November, compared with “only” 79% of Republicans who get information primarily from CNN and other mainstream media sources.
Further, just 7% of Republican Fox News and conservative media consumers say Trump committed serious federal crimes.
So, it turns out that in 2024, Republicans do, in fact, believe anything on Fox News. And, yes, Trump does lie continuously, and they still eat it up.
Our new host for the weekly provocative question challenge is Jewish Young Professional, aka JYP.
So what is her provocative question for this week? It’s a juicy one, that’s for sure. She wants to know…
Does the government have the right to remove posts that could misinform the public? Does the government have the responsibility to? Or is government take down of such posts a violation of free speech?
I think this question about misinformation being presented to the public in a significant way gained prominence with the proliferation of conservative talk radio, personified by the likes of Rush Limbaugh. That evolved to television with Rupert Murdock’s Fox News, which became essentially a megaphone for the far-right.
But it was with the rise of Facebook and Twitter that gave a huge, “grassroots” platform for lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories to all of the whackos and weirdos from the fringes. As well, by the way, to foreign players whose interests are anything that can undermine and destroy our democracy.
And then there is the First Amendment, the Free Speech amendment. My initial inclination would have been for Facebook and Twitter to police themselves. That is, to identify bad actors, foreign or domestic, who are spreading the lies, the misinformation, and the dangerous conspiracy theories, and remove those players and their posts or tweets from those platforms. But why would they do that when Fox News, other far-right TV networks, and conservative talk radio hosts get away with doing the exact same things?
So then comes the question of the role of the government in these matters. The problem is that “the government” changes every few years. If we end up with a “Trumpist” government as a result of our next national election in 2024, that government promotes lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. The last thing that government would want to do is stop it.
And if the other party even tried to rein in the spread of malicious lies and misinformation, they’d probably have about the same result they’re having with reining in the proliferation and use of civilian firearms in this country.
If the private sector won’t do anything, and if nobody trusts that the government can do anything, the only option is for individuals to recognize the difference between truth and lies, between valid information and misinformation, and between reality and conspiracy. I’m afraid that’s not going to happen either.
I’ll tell you what’s preposterous. It’s that George Santos has been sworn in as the representative for New York’s 3rd congressional district.
Santos is guilty of a series of lies about his qualifications, work background, his claims that he is the descendant of Holocaust survivors, fabrications about his education, and past employment.
That this Republican, who has confessed to lying about his background and qualifications, was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives is preposterous.
(Exactly 75 words)
Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where the prompt is “preposterous” in exactly 75 words.
Another Monday has rolled around and that means it’s time for another edition of Melanie’s Share Your World. Here goes.
What are three scents you like?
Coffee, bacon, freshly baked bread.
Whatis something true (factual) that most other people don’t believe?
I think a true fact is that most people can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, nor truth and lies, especially when it comes to politics and religion.
Would you rather have a massage or get a facial?
A massage…with a happy ending! 😉
Have you ever thrown someone a really extravagant party?
This, That, and the Other 