It’s an explanation why voters vote against their own interests. It also explains the anti-science (i.e. anti-truth) stance of the Trumpists. The main reason why we are no longer a democracy is a little abstract: when individuals trusted with the vote are treading water in a sea of lies, those voters do not have accurate information upon which to base their vote. The sources you quote are manufacturing “the” big lie.
I’d mention the information systems of the Left: Stewart, Oliver, and other late night hosts. Useful, but they all portray themselves as comedians and act like it. Things are so bad there’s a lot to make fun of.
I think that humor is a powerful weapon, especially when used to deflate people who are full of themselves. I love it when the vile Stephen Miller gets shrill and whiny when SNL pokes fun at him. And I still remember fondly when Tim Walz was calling Vance "weird". If you know Harry Potter, remember the Riddikulus curse?
The right wants us to be afraid, so humor can be a useful weapon. These are serious times but it's important not to let it overwhelm us
We are in mad times now, and much humor is a distraction. It’s not funny any more to a lot of people. Lampooning is only one facet of humor. We’re past that now.
If you want to see humor about mad times, try the old movie Marat/Sade on Youtube:
Thank you for being on top of this. Reading your other comments, it must be a literal full time job or more to follow what's going on. I appreciate that you are taking a wide view, both over time and across media. The right has put a lot of work into this and the rest of us have to be ready to do the same.
Have you looked at work by Maria Ressa and Rappler? In particular I just read "How to Stand Up to a Dictator". She's done some great analysis of how Facebook has been manipulated, but you already mentioned that other instances of Facebook complicity. We have a lot to learn by looking at where other countries have been. This is really a global struggle!
I spend several hours a day tracking this because the US communications environment is so dynamic. If we stand still we fall behind, I will check out Maria Ressler.
Excellent and important breakdown of the Right and their communications network. So many today hear “news” that’s foreign to many of our ears. And, it’s the sole news they hear. Until this indoctrination and emotional enraging is dealt with we will remain at a loss. Thank you, Will, for this. It’s a piece to share and drive discussions.
Will Robinson, thank you for today’s substack. Hoping Part III will provide a strategy of a modern day advertising campaign to sell our progressive democracy. Today the Bromacracy is in Saudi states ready to grab their millions that normally fund fossil fuels, and now want to have power over A.I. by backing the Tech Elites profits from corrupting our judicial system and gambling the crypto games and illegal banking. If we don’t get a strong message and Democratic Party strategy…our window will vanish with the republican’s wrecking ball.
Important work here. Was ChatGPT used to research this and compose this piece? I ask because if this is readily available, what role does the consolidation of AI into a handful of companies play into controlling the narratives we get from these tools?
I used a variety of sources including the 50 years collective experience of myself and several colleagues. One of the frustrations is that this is changing so quickly that there is no one dependable current source. It is also monolithic - my first draft of just this section was 13 pages and even that was incomplete. I tried writing a book on this a few years ago and when the galleys came back huge sections were outdated. Thats why I like substack - it is a rolling first draft of technology. I am NOT anti AI - it is helpful, but it still has a tendency to “make things up” including cites - and its spelling is worse than mine! I verify every source from AI, Google, and my young staff. I will be writing more soon….
YESSIR! I am feeling the same frustrations - where in the hell can we get info that isn’t owned? I really appreciate you bringing your experience to bear here - it’s a massively important topic, so keep going, I’m here for it!
Great summary.
It’s an explanation why voters vote against their own interests. It also explains the anti-science (i.e. anti-truth) stance of the Trumpists. The main reason why we are no longer a democracy is a little abstract: when individuals trusted with the vote are treading water in a sea of lies, those voters do not have accurate information upon which to base their vote. The sources you quote are manufacturing “the” big lie.
I’d mention the information systems of the Left: Stewart, Oliver, and other late night hosts. Useful, but they all portray themselves as comedians and act like it. Things are so bad there’s a lot to make fun of.
I think that humor is a powerful weapon, especially when used to deflate people who are full of themselves. I love it when the vile Stephen Miller gets shrill and whiny when SNL pokes fun at him. And I still remember fondly when Tim Walz was calling Vance "weird". If you know Harry Potter, remember the Riddikulus curse?
The right wants us to be afraid, so humor can be a useful weapon. These are serious times but it's important not to let it overwhelm us
It would be nice to agree.
Humor is saying Tim Walz looks like Elmer Fudd.
We are in mad times now, and much humor is a distraction. It’s not funny any more to a lot of people. Lampooning is only one facet of humor. We’re past that now.
If you want to see humor about mad times, try the old movie Marat/Sade on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6V2SIPL59A
Thank you for being on top of this. Reading your other comments, it must be a literal full time job or more to follow what's going on. I appreciate that you are taking a wide view, both over time and across media. The right has put a lot of work into this and the rest of us have to be ready to do the same.
Have you looked at work by Maria Ressa and Rappler? In particular I just read "How to Stand Up to a Dictator". She's done some great analysis of how Facebook has been manipulated, but you already mentioned that other instances of Facebook complicity. We have a lot to learn by looking at where other countries have been. This is really a global struggle!
Thanks for the good work, keep it up!
I spend several hours a day tracking this because the US communications environment is so dynamic. If we stand still we fall behind, I will check out Maria Ressler.
Excellent and important breakdown of the Right and their communications network. So many today hear “news” that’s foreign to many of our ears. And, it’s the sole news they hear. Until this indoctrination and emotional enraging is dealt with we will remain at a loss. Thank you, Will, for this. It’s a piece to share and drive discussions.
Will Robinson, thank you for today’s substack. Hoping Part III will provide a strategy of a modern day advertising campaign to sell our progressive democracy. Today the Bromacracy is in Saudi states ready to grab their millions that normally fund fossil fuels, and now want to have power over A.I. by backing the Tech Elites profits from corrupting our judicial system and gambling the crypto games and illegal banking. If we don’t get a strong message and Democratic Party strategy…our window will vanish with the republican’s wrecking ball.
I’m on it!
Important work here. Was ChatGPT used to research this and compose this piece? I ask because if this is readily available, what role does the consolidation of AI into a handful of companies play into controlling the narratives we get from these tools?
I used a variety of sources including the 50 years collective experience of myself and several colleagues. One of the frustrations is that this is changing so quickly that there is no one dependable current source. It is also monolithic - my first draft of just this section was 13 pages and even that was incomplete. I tried writing a book on this a few years ago and when the galleys came back huge sections were outdated. Thats why I like substack - it is a rolling first draft of technology. I am NOT anti AI - it is helpful, but it still has a tendency to “make things up” including cites - and its spelling is worse than mine! I verify every source from AI, Google, and my young staff. I will be writing more soon….
YESSIR! I am feeling the same frustrations - where in the hell can we get info that isn’t owned? I really appreciate you bringing your experience to bear here - it’s a massively important topic, so keep going, I’m here for it!
Best overview of the right wing ecosystem I've read yet. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼