QAnon and on: why the fight against extremist conspiracies is far from over

[Gondwanaland]

lol

as someone that claims to be a Libertarian, you might want to hold back from painting an entire political group with the actions of its lunatic fringe

I mean, you guys have Vermin Supreme representing you

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020...e-in-2020.html

Interesting, I didn't paint any entire political group with the actions of its lunatic fringe. Main Stream Media, major Democrats, etc., were pushing the goofy 4chan 'white supremacy symbol'. Literally the ADL still has a webpage declaring it is a white power symbol. It was not just some 'fringe' folks, hun.

As to Vermin Supreme, yeah, he's a few bolts short of an engine, but he's also an actual performance artist/satirist, so..... nice fail.

[Backup]

Interesting, I didn't paint any entire political group with the actions of its lunatic fringe. Main Stream Media, major Democrats, etc., were pushing the goofy 4chan 'white supremacy symbol'. Literally the ADL still has a webpage declaring it is a white power symbol. It was not just some 'fringe' folks, hun.

As to Vermin Supreme, yeah, he's a few bolts short of an engine, but he's also an actual performance artist/satirist, so..... nice fail.

I’m a Democrat and I never mistook a random OK gesture or the circle game for white supremacy.

Libertarians embraced Vermin Supreme, not just some fringe folks, hun, so…nice fail.

[Gondwanaland]

I’m a Democrat and I never mistook a random OK gesture or the circle game for white supremacy.

I don't recall saying you did. COme back when you are capable of grasping english.

Libertarians embraced Vermin Supreme, not just some fringe folks, hun, so…nice fail.

Sounds like you didn't even read my bloody post. Typical reversion to your old form. That didn't take long at all.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Many had doubts about the honesty of the MSM long ago, but the witch hunting tactics engaged in during the past five years provided concrete evidence that the doubts weren't mere figments of the imagination. Social media picked up on some of them and trumpeted it loud and clear. (you could always tell when it happened: the MSM would go into a frenzy about "fake news" being promoted on Social Media.) MSM thoroughly discredited itself, which gave Social Media more credibility than it deserved - occasional flashes of real news aside, it is no better than the MSM.

Is this specifically the US MSM and/or anglophone MSM? And which specific sections? There are tabloids and scandal sheets in every country - salacious gossip has been popular for many centuries. However, there are also reputable newspapers that still try to be as objective as possible. And there is a lot of independent investigative journalism. The publication of the Panama and Paradise Papers and the Ed Snowden revelations were all the result of newspapers working in collaboration.

However, the main diet of news for millions does not come from newspapers. It comes from feeds on their phones/tablets or via MSM news/magazine programmes. And much of that is neither in-depth nor wide reaching. There is also the issue of large corporations controlling news outlets where a political viewpoint is pushed. Exactly how many news outlets, papers, television, radio etc, does the Murdoch corporation own or retain a controlling interest within? And Murdoch is not the only such individual in the world with that level of control.

[tabibito]

Is this specifically the US MSM and/or anglophone MSM? And which specific sections? There are tabloids and scandal sheets in every country - salacious gossip has been popular for many centuries. However, there are also reputable newspapers that still try to be as objective as possible. And there is a lot of independent investigative journalism. The publication of the Panama and Paradise Papers and the Ed Snowden revelations were all the result of newspapers working in collaboration.

However, the main diet of news for millions does not come from newspapers. It comes from feeds on their phones/tablets or via MSM news/magazine programmes. And much of that is neither in-depth nor wide reaching. There is also the issue of large corporations controlling news outlets where a political viewpoint is pushed. Exactly how many news outlets, papers, television, radio etc, does the Murdoch corporation own or retain a controlling interest within? And Murdoch is not the only such individual in the world with that level of control.

I misspoke - the clusters that I know of don't include all of the Anglophone world and do include some sectors that aren't: I can't speak of conditions in all the world, nor in all the Anglophone world.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

I misspoke - the clusters that I know of don't include all of the Anglophone world and do include some sectors that aren't: I can't speak of conditions in all the world, nor in all the Anglophone world.

That is a fair enough qualification. However, my reply was also badly worded. I was really referencing poor journalism and the fact that large swathes of populations probably never did, and some people still do not, read the so-called "serious" newspapers. There are also internet sites [many in English] where people can, if they are motivated, watch or read news programmes from other countries. There is no actual reason for people to be uninformed about what is happening in the world.

And of course there are libraries!

[CivilDiscourse]

There is no actual reason for people to be uninformed about what is happening in the world.

Sure there is. Disinterest, Time, and Priorities would come up as a big set of reason for people to be uninformed. Most people aren't going to go out of their way to read up on the news of foreign countries, unless that foreign country is going to have an impact on their life in a direct way. After all, are you informed on with what's happening in the current political races in Kansas? I'm not, and probably won't be unless it becomes relative in some way. What about the current legislative agenda in Botswana?

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Sure there is. Disinterest, Time, and Priorities would come up as a big set of reason for people to be uninformed. Most people aren't going to go out of their way to read up on the news of foreign countries, unless that foreign country is going to have an impact on their life in a direct way. After all, are you informed on with what's happening in the current political races in Kansas? I'm not, and probably won't be unless it becomes relative in some way. What about the current legislative agenda in Botswana?

Hence my comment that if people are motivated.

[CivilDiscourse]

Hence my comment that if people are motivated.

You said that the motivated can find news. You said there was no reason for people to be uninformed. One does not logically flow into the other.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

You said that the motivated can find news. You said there was no reason for people to be uninformed. One does not logically flow into the other.

Given the plethora of information available on the web [and of course in libraries] there is no reason for people to be uninformed.

Furthermore, we all find the motivation to do the things we really want to do..

[CivilDiscourse]

Given the plethora of information available on the web [and of course in libraries] there is no reason for people to be uninformed.

Furthermore, we all find the motivation to do the things we really want to do..

I gave you plenty of reasons why someone might be uninformed. You didn't answer through, are you up to date (informed) about the legislative agenda in Botswana? How about Uganda? Kansas? Michigan? What about Thailand? Kansas City, Missouri? Salt Lake City, Utah? You have no reason to be uninformed, so are you up to date on all the different locals across the world and their legislative agendas?

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

I gave you plenty of reasons why someone might be uninformed. You didn't answer through, are you up to date (informed) about the legislative agenda in Botswana? How about Uganda? Kansas? Michigan? What about Thailand? Kansas City, Missouri? Salt Lake City, Utah? You have no reason to be uninformed, so are you up to date on all the different locals across the world and their legislative agendas?

I've answered the question. Of course no one is an authority of everything in the world.

However, upon issues which affect people directly or indirectly it pays to have an informed opinion.

It is also worth [purely for interest] reading/watching/listening about other peoples lives in other parts of the world. That is why I enjoy radio. I can listen while I do other things and I often find myself listening to programmes on topics that I would not normally pursue. However, the radio programme can often prompt me to find out more about that topic.

I have just discovered a poet I knew nothing about purely as a result of a 30 minute radio programme.

[CivilDiscourse]

I've answered the question. Of course no one is an authority of everything in the world.

However, upon issues which affect people directly or indirectly it pays to have an informed opinion.

It is also worth [purely for interest] reading/watching/listening about other peoples lives in other parts of the world. That is why I enjoy radio. I can listen while I do other things and I often find myself listening to programmes on topics that I would not normally pursue. However, the radio programme can often prompt me to find out more about that topic.

I have just discovered a poet I knew nothing about purely as a result of a 30 minute radio programme.

So, you were incorrect when you said there was no reason to be uninformed.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

So, you were incorrect when you said there was no reason to be uninformed.

No. For those who are motivated and have enquiring minds there is no need for GI.

Now shoo I am listening to an opera on the radio!

[CivilDiscourse]

No. For those who are motivated and have enquiring minds there is no need for GI.

Now shoo I am listening to an opera on the radio!

You can listen to the radio without being distracted by a forum that you can easily choose to not look at. You can listen to Wagner and answer whenever you want.

As for your answer, you claimed no reason. Lack of interest is a perfectly valid reason, you've just narrowed your definition now.