The Partisan Divide on Issues

[Bob Butler 54]

One of the 'features' of the partisan divide is alternative facts, of people out and out lying to make sure people will believe and vote up is down, black is white and truth isn't.  A large part of this is the internet.  There are a lot of sources of information, and a tendency to latch onto sources that fit what you tend to believe.  This is exaggerated be groups generating massive amounts of disinformation, that have learned to pull people away from a reality of facts.  Putin's Russia and Trump's Republicans might stand as examples.

The "Meet the Press" Episode of Dec 29 features the Washington Post and New York Times editors talking about how to tell a modern professional media source which is a source of truth from a group which is throwing out lies.  I quite believe that the modern internet , social media, and disinformation methods can succeed for a time.  However, with not much effort, if one is interested, you can learn to tell the techniques used to speak truth from the methods used to tell lies.

The way the current disinformation sources work is predictable.  Base all disinformation on a kernel of truth.  Repeat you lies often.  Attack the true sources as unreliable to create a bubble.

And the professional media is learning to fight back.  The big boys have to have a fact checking department.  Their reporters have to put their sources on line with links to verification.

I have left a lot out of the program which is easy enough to find.  Thing is, if you do not want to be bamboozled, it is fairly easy not to be.  The current administration thus becomes a worst case bunch of folks influencing a public which was not familiar with the methods.  I don't know that the people will allow themselves to become that gullible to disinformation in the long term.  It is rapidly possible to recognize the techniques for how it is done.