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I’ve mentioned this before, and as the deluge of misinformation escalates, it’s time to repeat it. There are good ways to train yourself to recognize what true and what’s not.
Our advertising-supported media must avoid offending their extremist readers lest they lose readers. Consequently, news reporting tries to balance the criticism they level on both sides. The competition for prime media space is not symmetrical. If you are unfettered by scruples, you are free to say whatever works to dominate the news cycle, even if it is clearly nonsense. Only so much information fits above the fold on the paper or into the politics segment of the evening cable news.
If one side launches something outrageous to the other, everyone covers it, regardless of merit. As a progressive, I assert that there is so much genuinely negative, truthful news about former President Donald Trump that his handlers and his propaganda machine must manufacture distracting information to displace the steady flow of scandelous reality. So we get these stories Vance has made up about immigrants eating pets. This fills space that might otherwise be devoted to reporting about DJT’s mental lapses, suspected affairs, failed legal moves, etc. Amazingly, he can even admit to lying, justifying himself doing so on the basis that he had to dupe the mainstream media into covering the southern border crossings issue.
Low-information voters succumb to confirmation bias. They believe that the other side is more evil than their own candidate. They excuse his plans to cheat because they believe that the opposition is cheating. Fight fire with fire, they say. The misinformation bubble is tough to burst. Subscribe to Get Smart About News.