America’s Authoritarians: The US political divide

 

How the spread of wild conspiracy theories has undermined democratic institutions and social stability in the US.

With guns in their hands and faith in God at their side, many Republicans in the United States continue to believe that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.

As a result, the country remains deeply divided over the last contest for the White House – and the violent attempts at the Capitol that followed to overturn the result.

Uvalde school shooting: debunking claims that CNN & NBC aired staged interviews

 

Some users claim that CNN & NBC news used two different fathers for the same Uvalde school shooting victim. This claim that the networks used paid actors is fake.

American conservatives are incapable of facing up to the realities of schoolings in the country. Making any excuse to deflect blame where it lies. They really found their conspiratorial voice following the Sandyhook primary school mass shooting in the U.S. state of Connecticut in 2012. When Alex Jones of Infowars claimed that, not only had no one died, they were all crisis actors. He continued with the statement that if was a false flag operation carried out by the American government as a ruse to seize firearms that were privately owned.

QAnon: When Social Media Conspiracies Spark Real Violence | Bad Influence

 

How did the movement that began with a sick joke end in a deadly riot at our nation’s Capitol? Here’s how the social media echo chamber brought QAnon to life.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Questions Dodged by Republicans

 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been filmed harassing a Parkland shooting survivor, suggested that Nancy Pelosi be executed, and promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy about space lasers, among other things

Where Conspiracy Theorists Steal Their Ideas From | Truth Hurts

 

For as long as they’ve existed, conspiracy theories have been laughed off by the mainstream for being too ‘far-fetched’. But actually, many of them haven’t been fetched from very far away at all.

Conspiracy theories: Who are the people who believe them?

 

Conspiracy Theories are a global phenomenon. Some make people deny the existence of the new coronavirus, while believing that vaccination is about the implantation of brain chips! Others incite voters who just lost an election to assault democratic institutions, like those Trump supporters storming the US Capitol to stop Congress clear the way for a Joe Biden presidency.

US Election 2020 | America: Fact vs Conspiracy- BBC News

 

The American election may have been decided - but President Trump is still fighting President-elect Biden in the courts. Tonight in Georgia - where runoff elections in January could decide the balance of power in the Senate -  the results of a recount are expected imminently.

Facebook To Ban QAnon

 Somehow on find Facebooks new found interest in preventing racism, hate speech and racism rather disingenuous. As they've never shown any interest in such polices in the nearly four years Donald Trump has been in office. He's the worlds biggest purveyor of conspiracy theories, racism and white nationalism. So, why now? Has Facebook changed its terms of use because they believe its the right thing to do or was because they see a backlash towards their indifference in stopping such groups from promoting ideas that are in contravention  to the beliefs of a wider public. 

 Facebook will ban any groups, pages or Instagram accounts that “represent” QAnon, the company announced Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of its attempt to crack down on the antisemitic conspiracy movement that has thrived on its platform.

The policy will apply to groups, pages or Instagram accounts whose names or descriptions suggest that they are dedicated to the QAnon movement, a Facebook spokesperson explained. It will not apply to individual content.

Just two months ago, Facebook had no policy on QAnon, a baseless internet conspiracy theory whose followers believe without evidence that Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against a world-ruling cabal of child-traffickers.

What is QAnon and why is it so dangerous?

 

Donald Trump has referred to QAnon followers as 'people who love our country' - while to the FBI considers them a potential domestic terror threat. The Guardian US technology reporter Julia Carrie Wong explains the roots - and rise - of QAnon, the unfounded conspiracy theory that emerged in the US in 2017, and is now spreading across the world

The QAnon orphans: people who have lost loved ones to conspiracy theories

QAnon: Are conspiracy theories becoming a deadly threat? | To The Point

 

QAnon adherents distrust to the state and its elites. Some believers in the QAnon deep state conspiracy even call for violence.

Inside The Rise Of Qanon Affiliated Candidates For Congress

Before running for office, Republican congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote dozens of articles as a "correspondent" for a conspiracy news website, according to archived web pages uncovered by NBC News.

In posts published on the now-defunct "American Truth Seekers" website in 2017, Greene wrote favorably of the QAnon conspiracy theory, suggested that Hillary Clinton murdered her political enemies, and ruminated on whether mass shootings were orchestrated to dismantle the Second Amendment.

Coronavirus conspiracy theories: Why do people fall for them?

Despite mounting evidence about the coronavirus, conspiracy theories are still on the rise. Well, the COVID-19 pandemic is scary, and people are hungry for answers. Social media is rife with speculation, ranging from the plausible to the ridiculous.

Conspiracy theories on the internet

Conspiracy theories are spreading rapidly on the Internet. And they find an audience that believes them. Scientists are studying why people have a tendency to believe nonsense is true. The Internet has profoundly changed our thinking in less than two decades. No other medium has manipulated human behavior to such an extent.

How contagious? Conspiracies, lies & the coronavirus ‘infodemic’

Whether it’s false cures or conspiracy theories, disinformation is going viral – so much so, that the United Nations says we’re fighting two enemies: the scourge of Covid-19 and an “infodemic.” Who’s behind the spread of fake Corona news and who can stop it? Can social media be compelled to take responsibility? And how is the crisis being instrumentalized for political purposes? France24 and DW join up for „The Debate."

Conspiracy theorists said she started the coronavirus pandemic. Now she's afraid for her life.

Maatje Benassi, a US Army reservist and mother of two, has become the target of conspiracy theorists who falsely place her at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, saying she brought the disease to China.

The false claims are spreading across YouTube every day, so far racking up hundreds of thousands of apparent views, and have been embraced by Chinese Communist Party media. Despite never having tested positive for the coronavirus or experienced symptoms, Benassi and her husband are now subjects of discussion on Chinese social media about the outbreak, including among accounts that are known drivers of large-scale coordinated activities by their followers.

Mike Huckabee The Paranoia Is Strong In This One

Many rightwing adherents have come to view the coronavirus or covid19 outbreak and pandemic with a lot suspicion and paranoia thanks to Donald Trump diminishing the severity of the crisis and rightwing media telling their listeners, readers and viewers that it's all hoax.  Or that it was a biological weapon created in China with funding from the Democratic party.  This is how far into denial these people are.  Remember these are the same people who believed there was a child sex ring being run by Bill and Hilary Clinton at Comet Ping Pong a pizzeria in suburban Washington D.C., after the Sandyhook school shooting that those who died (using their term) were crisis actors and that it was a false flag operation created by the Obama administration to take away their guns and the flu and covid19 were the same type of virus. They are not.

Now former Arkansas governor and failed presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has wade into the stupid with his conspiracies and paranoia. In the excerpt below he implores mayors to direct their citizens to buy firearms. Why? Because all of your constitutional rights which haven't been taken away are being taken away.

  

Trump spreads conspiracy theories as US coronavirus death toll rises

As has its been obvious for the last 3 years Donald Trump is incapable in dealing with adversity.  When these situations arise he returns to the its someone else's fault, I never met the person who's been accused of acting illegally on his behalf, acts the media calling them fake news, states that the Democrats are involved in whatever conspiracy theory happens to be popular among his sycophantic supporters and those are just some the diversions he uses to absolve himself of any blame. 

Today with the coronavirus outbreak being a full blown epidemic he has once again taken to twitter to castigate others for his utter incompetence. 

President continues to downplay threat, focus on own re-election odds

John T BennettWashington


      

The Obama/Biden Administration is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020

“Trump has outmastered the Deep State. He’s light years ahead of us.” MSDNC. I disagree. We have a long way to go. There are still some very bad, sick people in our government - people who do not love our Country (In fact, they hate our Country!).

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020

As Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infections, was on CNN urging elderly people to avoid cruise ships and possibly air travel, the president seemed mostly focused on his own re-election prospects. He tried sowing more bad blood within the Democratic ranks rather than offer any advice about the coronavirus or calm any nervous citizens or companies - or US stock markets.

"Now the Democrats are trying to smear Bernie with Russia, Russia, Russia. They are driving him Crazy!", Mr Trump tweeted, even though he himself suggested Mr Sanders was a Soviet- sympathising 'communist' and reported he went on his honeymoon decades ago in Moscow.

Conspiracy theories and the media

A look at the consequences that conspiracy theories have in the real world.

Conspiracy theories involving powerful forces orchestrating global events have a long history.

Ideas that Jews, Freemasons, the Illuminati, lizard people or aliens are secretly running world affairs have been around for centuries. But in the past year conspiracy theories have been taking centre stage in mainstream politics both in Europe and the United States and have also been linked to deadly crimes.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made fears of a migrant invasion orchestrated by George Soros a central part of his election campaign last March.

Trump invented a fake spy scandal. People will still believe it.

President Trump calls it calls it “spygate:” the allegation that the FBI and democrats put a spy in his campaign to help Hillary Clinton. It’s not true. Top republicans like Speaker Paul Ryan have even disputed the president. But even though it’s a conspiracy theory, millions of Americans will still believe it. It’s a playbook he has used before. “Spygate” is an attempt to delegitimize the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. If the American people lose trust in them, they won’t believe whatever the investigation finds. It’s working.