"I believe this election turned out the way it did in no small part because a large number of Americans are now submerged in new factories of lies more insidious than anything Orwell imagined,"

William Lindsey :toad:

"and that while the worst of it is the foreign and far-right intentional distortion of reality, too much of the mainstream media has been deferential and will be more deferential to authoritarianism and will not stop letting the right set the agenda about what to be concerned about and what matters. In fact, I don’t have to believe that disinformation is impactful; I know it because it’s been documented."

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/2

William Lindsey :toad:

"Most American voters who had correct facts about the major issues voted for Harris. Those who didn’t voted for Trump. However, when they were blindly presented with Harris’s policies, they greatly favored them.

What explains this dichotomy and breakdown?

Dan Froomkin 'blames the press' in part for failing to inform many Trump voters when it came to the reality of the economy, inflation, immigration and crime."

~ Wahajat Ali

#Trump #Republicans #disinformation
/3

How Corporate Media Helped Re-Elect Trump

Right wing media has been a dominant source of spreading confusion, disinformation and hate. However, establishment media has been a complicit partner. How has it failed and can it do better?

(thelefthook.substack.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

"It was Joe Biden’s fault. It was Kamala Harris’ fault. But apparently the bleak permanence of American racism and misogyny, the almost unimpeded rise of fascism, and a system so broken the Republican Party actually nominated, and America elected, an insurrectionist in direct violation of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment had nothing at all to do with the dark turn we’ve taken."

~ Mary Trump

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/4

The Media Want to Blame Kamala Harris

They should take a look in the mirror

(www.marytrump.org)

William Lindsey :toad:

"The question they should be asking is, 'Why?'

Instead, they waste time on their typical and tired blame-the-Democrats assessments while ignoring the underlying causes that led to this fraught and dangerous era, a fascist is putting together the most extreme cabinet in modern American history. Good job, everybody."

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/5

William Lindsey :toad:

"Surveys show that Trump’s supporters don’t just tolerate his autocratic tendencies. They positively like them. ...

Most Americans don’t want explicit autocracy. But many Trump supporters are open to it, and most of his voters will support or tolerate authoritarian policies and acts."

~ Will Saletan'

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/6

Just How Authoritarian Are Americans?

Surveys show that Trump’s supporters don’t just tolerate his autocratic tendencies. They positively like them.

(www.thebulwark.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

"If you’re upset about grocery prices now, see what happens if Trump goes after a huge part of the agricultural work force; immigrants are around three-quarters of agricultural workers — & roughly half of them are undocumented. (& do you really doubt that many workers legally here will be caught up in Trump’s threatened dragnets?) Undocumented immigrants also play a large role in food processing."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/7

nytimes.com

(www.nytimes.com)

Prickly Pam (D-PA)

@wdlindsy

Sure, they'll tolerate it until it affects them. And then, too late, suckers.

William Lindsey :toad:

"For example, they account for an estimated 30 to 50 percent of workers in meatpacking.

If these workers are deported, the food industry will probably have great difficulty replacing them. Even in the best case, the industry will have to offer much higher wages — and, of course, these higher wages will be passed on in higher prices.

(Oh, and while we produce most of what we eat, we also import a lot of food — whose prices would be raised by tariffs.)"

#Trump #fascism #disinformation
/8

William Lindsey :toad:

"Undocumented immigrants are more than a fifth of the construction work force, so deportations would severely hamper efforts to increase the housing supply. (And no, contrary to what JD Vance said, immigration hasn’t driven the recent spike in housing costs.)"

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/9

William Lindsey :toad:

"Could we easily make up for the loss of these workers by replacing them with native-born workers? No. Employment among native-born adults in their prime working years is higher than it was at any point during Trump’s first term. There just isn’t a large pool of idle but employable native-born Americans to put to work."

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/10

William Lindsey :toad:

"For American democracy, this election has been like going to the doctor for a routine annual physical, only to be shown an X-ray revealing a sinister dark mass over the heart. ...

This election has taught me that our country has made a fundamental shift in its core values."

~ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/11

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

(www.bloomberg.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

“He’s good and bad. People say he’s a dictator. I believe that. I consider him like Hitler. But I voted for the man.”

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/12

~ Scranton, Pennsylvania, voter Matt Wolfson

Democrats kept calling Trump a fascist, but these Pennsylvania voters thought he could help them pay the bills

Even though Trump spewed violent and anti-democratic rhetoric, these voters think he can help the economy and their bottom line.

https://www.inquirer.com (www.inquirer.com)

FIAR Light

@wdlindsy Pretty much it WAS their fault and 50 years of neoliberal bullshit that dems like Clintons, Obama, Biden (the worst) embraced (and Reagan, Bushes amplified). They took votes for granted; then shit on labor, the poor, BIPOC, the planet, just offering window dressing and crumbs. Of course the "answer" wasn't Drumpf and now we're all horribly, thoroughly 100% fucked to death. ALL. Including the .1%--it'll just take a wee bit longer to get to them.

William Lindsey :toad:

"Politics isn’t about politics anymore.

That significant numbers instead see it as a vehicle to channel their fears and resentment-driven emotional instincts – beyond facts – is the existential challenge facing democracy today. ...

The tech revolution has changed everything."

~ Hardeep Matharu

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/13

The Psycho-Social-Techno Politics of ‘MAGA’ Trumps Democracy – And The Liberal Left Needs an Answer

Donald Trump’s second victory in the United States is a warning sign to democracies everywhere of the centrality of emotions – and their manipulation – in our politics

(www.bylinesupplement.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

"For many outside of progressive, liberal, and left-leaning circles, social media platforms rife with conspiracy, disinformation, and hate are what people are seeing daily – and where they develop their sense of the world they live in. Social media is now the media."

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/14

William Lindsey :toad:

"In this ecosystem, what matters is what resonates, regardless of how outrageous, and getting riled up is rewarded by the algorithm. Again, there is the interaction of such visceral instincts with the more factual grievance of the system not working in their interests."

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #future #disinformation
/15

Prickly Pam (D-PA)

@wdlindsy

First, I have to admit I didn't read/listen to this article.

That said, many people just don't read/listen to mainstream media. They can't be bothered. It's not fun.

Instead they get their news from podcasts and TikTok videos.

Those are more entertaining to people who can barely read.

lolonurse

@wdlindsy
Anyone who hasn't seen the "comedy" film A Day Without A Mexican", you really ought to!

William Lindsey :toad:

@LightFIAR Feel free, if you choose, to focus on the perceived shortcomings of Democrats and not the serious threat looming before all of us, and, in particular, before the most vulnerable of us.

Some of us don't have the luxury of playing that supercilious, self-defeating game. I'm among those "some of us." I refuse to entertain it, not even for a second.

William Lindsey :toad:

@lolonurse Thank you for recommending it. I haven't seen it and will look for it. I need comic relief now, for sure.