This right here is very much the problem. We're in "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes" grinder. And it's not really like we can just tell the truth *faster* because truth needs to be based on facts that are not always immediately available. - ThreadSky

elienyc.bsky.social • 130 days ago

This right here is very much the problem. We're in "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes" grinder.

And it's not really like we can just tell the truth *faster* because truth needs to be based on facts that are not always immediately available.

Reposted from Dave Weigel

Just wrapped up an interview w a House Dem about Laken Riley Act (he's against it) and the party is still unsure of how to handle this info environment. While you're approving a press release Elon has convinced 100 million people that you personally started the fire to enact Agenda 21.

Comments

santafosta.bsky.social•129 days ago

Dems need to consider @timothysnyder.bsky.social recommendation for a Shadow Cabinet as a quick strike action team.
https://bsky.app/profile/timothysnyder.bsky.social/post/3lf5zov3jqs24

loganhamberger.bsky.social•130 days ago

I’ve thought a lot about this ever since the days of Obama’s brother conspiracy theories, and the conclusion I made was that there is no putting the genie back in the bottle. I used to think something like a pandemic would wake people up, but if anything, COVID-19 showed how cooked we are.

loganhamberger.bsky.social•130 days ago

The next step would be something like a world war or another Great Depression level event, but then you have to wonder what all these young, lonely men do when they’re jobless, broke, and looking for someone to blame. I hope someone smarter than me is thinking about how to solve this.

kentuckyartist.bsky.social•130 days ago

I’m going to enjoy all these bigot Republicans who are being assholes about Karen Bass have to eat crow when they find out the fires in LA were started by arson.

tatadude.bsky.social•130 days ago

A large part of the answer is Ds need to go on offense. Ds are always on defense responding & that has failed. Such Defense only works, and then only marginally, when you loudly call out the liar! Ds offense strategy needs to farm out half-truthes & lies while cohesively shouting at wrong doers.

elienyc.bsky.social•130 days ago

So this isn't just a "Dems are bad at messaging" problem. It's "people who are reliable WAIT FOR FACTS before jumping to conclusions" problem. Republicans, being unmoored from reality, don't have that constraint.

awakeneddragon.bsky.social•130 days ago

We need that war machine Sheldon Whitehouse wants!

beege4.bsky.social•130 days ago

Agreed and I’d say a little jumping if spun carefully is good exercise.

lagoodman.bsky.social•130 days ago

This is so true, and I'm not sure what can be done about it aside from continually calling it out. I am surrounded by people who believe the lies. It's so disheartening.

steelrat.bsky.social•130 days ago

Just like yellow journalism. Only way to stop it is to not amplify dishonest people who lack integrity and reward those who are honest and credible

mattherndon.org•129 days ago

As a local politician in a D heavy college town I have tried to start this by correcting misleading statements from a fellow council member. It feels small but honesty at the lowest level of politics seems like a good place to start. We need regular people to get excited about the truth to succeed.

kilocharlie237.bsky.social•130 days ago

Yeah.
But pundits and consultants can't SELL your point if they need to make money. So ...

sha2024.bsky.social•129 days ago

There's a long record now of republican lies. How hard is it for Dems to call BS immediately.

getling.bsky.social•130 days ago

So then - how do we stigmatize the response speed itself? Everyone falls for a fast wrong answer that aligns with our confirmation bias…

worldcitizen1994.bsky.social•130 days ago

And too many stupid voters reward them for it.

briancummings.bsky.social•130 days ago

Einstein said this should be made as simple as they can be, but no simpler.

Sometimes “as simple as possible” doesn’t fit in 280 characters, or a one-minute TikTok video.

schatzkin.bsky.social•130 days ago

See Goebbels for Successful Propaganda and Fascist Fun with Lies for Dummies.

kingbeauregard.bsky.social•130 days ago

So if, for example, you were the sort of person who accused Merrick Garland of not doing his job, when in fact it was simply a complicated job that took a long time, you'd be part of the problem, right? And the only honorable thing would be for you to shut the fuck up and keep shutting the fuck up?

dahoovster.bsky.social•130 days ago

Just a week or two ago Molly Jong Fast got jumped for saying on air that she had to think before responding to something

It’s not an environment conducive to rational discussion

rationalpear.bsky.social•130 days ago

Mutually assured digital information destruction should be the strategy. Flood the zone with crazy salacious stories that make Rs look bad to their own people. Make them doubt the lies instead of believing them.

rationalpear.bsky.social•130 days ago

How about a story that trump golf courses in California don’t pay for water and so waste it. Now no water for the fires because T is greedy.

sinlawyer.bsky.social•130 days ago

It won’t work. It would only backfire.

undrum1.bsky.social•130 days ago

Americans are not reliable people sadly

perv47-hater.bsky.social•130 days ago

I wish you would run for office!

bluephoenix718.bsky.social•130 days ago

🎯

flmarlins85.bsky.social•130 days ago

They do this all the time and it’s infuriating. Like what do you guys do all day?

marcieh.bsky.social•130 days ago

It’s an education problem. Americans have given up on thinking for themselves. No critical thinking skills to be found because they have no basic understanding of how things work.

dlojones21.bsky.social•130 days ago

It’s a culture problem. Americans are so enamored with capitalism that they transformed education into a product instead of a process. Now it doesn’t matter what you learn; it matters if you pass. Students don’t think about or engage with content; they ask what they need to do to get an A or a C.

nlcbio.bsky.social•130 days ago

I've said this to my husband. A lot of people are very stupid, and smart people, for the most part, will struggle to dumb things down enough for stupid people to understand. Especially true for nuanced topics like the economy and foreign policy. Which is why we're screwed.

madisonian76.bsky.social•130 days ago

And they don’t ever have to fucking apologize.

jenniferdiascro.bsky.social•130 days ago

This exactly. It's a critical thinking problem, which is endemic and (I think) a primary explanation for the election results. Lots of folks rely on heuristics affected by biases, and don't take the time to collect, consider, & synthesize a wide range of information. It's a systemic problem.

themeanprogressive.bsky.social•130 days ago

Also, people who’d rather destroy truth have purchased the outlets necessary to spread deception, instead.

suz1962.bsky.social•130 days ago

Exactly, and that’s a damn tough act to follow.

benkenobisbeard.bsky.social•130 days ago

Some days...ok most days...alright dammit *all days* we live in a post-factual society.

elshahan.bsky.social•129 days ago

Unmoored from decency and free of consequence as well.

crunchy-snail.bsky.social•130 days ago

So the question is how to detach the rubes from the firehose? Sysiphus might have insight.

captbrow39.bsky.social•130 days ago

Thanks. I think you're right.

marywwalters.bsky.social•130 days ago

And I can see no way out of this situation

kbeatt.com•130 days ago

Maybe no one should tell the truth anymore 😬

pandovian.bsky.social•130 days ago

not having a conscience is an asymmetrical political advantage now and it *sucks*

jenfriesarts.bsky.social•130 days ago

This is why we must come at the magas *while* we work on getting the truth out. Truth is buried under the overgrown knotweed of their lies. We have to go after them with mockery, logic, exposure, etc. Use their own words to weaken them. We can do that faster, while we build up the truth.

bluephoenix718.bsky.social•130 days ago

Excellent point.

rsthomas42.bsky.social•130 days ago

And the truth often takes longer than five words to convey, which is beyond the attention span of the average American.

ponderer.bsky.social•130 days ago

I really felt the only way out of this was to attach a profit motive to the truth. Like set up an agency to track the accuracy of news sources - hell, the aggregate output of social media - generating tax breaks based on verifiable information and jacking it up for not controlling bullshit.

jpohlmanwriting.com•130 days ago

My best suggestion would be sustained, long-form communication that both educates and instructs viewers on how to *really* make a better world.

But now that we won't have the bully pulpit (as if it was ever used), Trump's gonna have that power and he'll do the liar's version of it. (1/2)

jpohlmanwriting.com•130 days ago

I try my level best, but I'm the tiniest of tiny cogs in a much more complicated set of machinery.

You're much larger, and you certainly do your best, but, well, I wish you had your own full show on a good network (M$NBC sold out) so I could point people to it, and so they'd promote it themselves.

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