Disinforming America

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE in these United States of Advertisng. People who run around with a head full of conspiracy theories and crazy, unproven ideas and opinions, and people who realize that we have a huge problem in this country; namely that there is seemingly and endless supply of crazy people running around distributing unfounded conspiracy theories, crazy, unproven opnions and ideas, and a constant flow of false facts presented as gospel. May the former rot in a garbage bin of decomposing nonsensical garbage... May the latter proliferate in number and overcome the harm done by the former by setting the record straight with clear thinking, the scientific method, and the ultimate antidote to disinformation; reliable, accurate information. As of now, prospects do not seem good; the purveyors of nonsensical falsehood seem to be winning the culture war. Our best hope to regain sanity is the hopeful fact that there is an growing awareness of the problem, and more and more well educated people are coming forward and joining the forces of sanity and reason, fighting and dispelling the dark forces of disinformation. Among the most effective truth tellig warriors is Barbara McQuade, professor of law at the University of Michigan, author of a seminal new book: "Attack From Within; How Disinformation is Sabotaging America", published just in time for this vital election year, in February, 2024. Good things can easily be subverted for nefarious purposes. Hence, two of the the most important institutions in American society, one old and new new, the first amendment and the internet, have been joined together by unscruplous manipulators of information to undermine the rule of law, the intellectual supremacy of factual knowledge, and democracy itself in the United States. McQuade provides a background by describing the history for propaganda machines in the twentieth century, from the rise of corporate media and advertising, to Mussolini,Hitler, Stalin, and their subversion of free media and use of propaganda and false information to subdue and control uninformed populations. Our modern age of computers, aside form the miraculous possibliites they give us in storing and sharing knowlegde and information, also have a dark side; anyone can own a comptuer, anyone can have access to the internet, and therefore, social midia platforms have become virtual fake news factories of disinformation, as criminal but enterprsidng organizations and individuals misinform milions of people with lies which are made to sound plausable by clever,attractive packaging, and appeals to people's weaknesses and emotions. People are by nature nostaglic. Tell them that there was once a golden time in American history when a better America prevailed, and that this better America has been stolen and replaced by agents of change such as secular progressives for their own evil purposes is a prime example of an often employed disinformation technique. The classic appeal to a better, reclaimable, mythical past. The great leader to lead us there. Disinformaton drives people to extreme points of view and ideologies, divides the country more than ever before, and creates an uninformed electorate capable of making tragically harmful choices at the ballot box. Nobody plays this deadly disinformation game more effectively than Donald Trump, his MAGA supporters, and their enablers, the Republican party and the American conservative community. More than two thirds of registered Republicans still, at this late date, believe that the election of 2020 was stolen from Trump, and that his violent insurrectionist attempt to overthrow the American govenrment and reamin illegally in power was a noble, justifiable cause. The mere fact that Trump is being allowd to run for presient in 2024, and that he stands a good chance of winning, is the most glaring example imaginable and possible of disinformation and its potency, effectiveness, and harm to America. Barbara McQuade offers solutions to the problem of mass disinformation. Among then is a renewed comittment to civic education and critical thinking skills in American public schools. The choice is clear; between a world in which people run around embracing their own, false, self delusional versions of reality, acting on their false fantasies, or a world in which a strong, healthy, democratic America serves as a shinging beacon of truth for itself and all humanity. Now is the time to choose.