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submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The U.S. will mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Saturday, a milestone that will confer upon the reality-dwelling citizenry a grim reminder of the potency of propaganda and how quickly it can warp perception when introduced into the public square.

Just three years ago, most of the country watched with dismay and horror as a violent MAGA mob beat back authorities and stormed the country’s citadel of democracy. The Donald Trump-incited crush of disillusioned rioters, fueled by a stream of fantastical lies, believed that the 2020 election had been stolen by sinister forces working to undermine the democratic election.

Of course, not only was their belief flatly incorrect, but evidence later emerged indicating that it was Trump who, in fact, had tried to subvert democracy.

Facts, however, have little bearing on the sentiment inside the Republican Party, which has been fed a steady diet of lies and half-truths by Fox News and the rest of the sprawling right-wing media machine. To wit, the false notion that Joe Biden nefariously stole the 2020 election is now widely shared inside the GOP. A CNN poll conducted over the summer found that nearly 70% of Republicans believe Biden’s win was not legitimate, a number that has continued to tick up.

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[-] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 128 points 11 months ago

Three years later, the ring leader and main benefactor is still free and openly lying.

This country is a joke. Literally incapable of defending itself from the inside. The US is beyond pathetic and will go down in history as such. We are so capable yet choose corruption.

[-] Nudding@lemmy.world 58 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

My guy, a country founded on the backs of a native American genocide and then 300 years of slavery, that decrees freedom above all else? You've never not been a joke.

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[-] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 11 points 11 months ago

And of course you get put on every watchlist in the country if you say people should just handle the Donald Trump problem directly and Shinzo Abe him. We do the most to protect that man from lynch mobs even though he was more than willing to use them. And for the record, I'm neither going to murder the man nor incite anyone else to do so, it's impossible to get away with and I don't have the balls even if I wasn't scared of prison, but I guarantee there would be very few tears shed if it did happen and nobody of worth would lose any sleep.

[-] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 35 points 11 months ago

I really hope no one kills him. I’m not sure I’d be able to live another couple of decades with people treating him like a fucking martyr.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

He will be a martyr even if he dies at 120 of natural causes in the lap of luxury. The cult has already formed. When he dies, he will ascend and they will wait for his return... or they'll say he never died at all like JFK, Jr.

[-] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 15 points 11 months ago

And in a couple hundred years there's gonna be a ladder sitting on Mar a Lago because the various sects of the Trumpian religion can't agree on who should move it.

Well, if Florida's not underwater by then.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

I've known about the ladder for a while. Religion can be horrible but when it's funny, it's hilarious.

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[-] pennomi@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

Political assassination gets rid of a figurehead but revitalizes the entire movement. It’s not a smart thing to do if you want to actually fix problems.

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[-] BeautifulMind@lemmy.world 76 points 11 months ago

Their continued refusal to acknowledge that it was a crime, and the normalization of criminal conspiracy and use of political violence to chill efforts to hold people accountable... all amounts to organized crime masquerading as legitimate politics

[-] USSEthernet@startrek.website 53 points 11 months ago

I'm still shocked to this day that police weren't mowing people down as they tried to force their way in. By not doing so, they basically said, "this is fine" IMO.

[-] splicerslicer@lemmy.world 53 points 11 months ago

Some of them on camera got caught removing the barriers and ushering them in.

"Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses"

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[-] Facebones@reddthat.com 43 points 11 months ago

If it had been a liberal mob, we'd be marking the anniversary of the January 6 massacre, and it'd be a holiday for Republicans.

[-] TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago

This. When I first heard I imagined they'd set up a few MG nests and show they weren't fucking around. I was quite surprised by how little a reaction, especially from the most gun happy country

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago

They were the right colour.

[-] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 21 points 11 months ago

They also had the right political views.

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[-] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 48 points 11 months ago

Even the Republicans who admit Trump was at fault for the events of 1/6 still say they'll vote for him.

It isn't about right and wrong to them, its about getting a fascist in the White House to reorder society into their prescribed hierarchy. Different factions have their grudges: trans people & other sexual minorities, POCs, foreigners, religious minorities, and leftists.

The hatred is what unites them, but they're too goddamn stupid to see that fascism always eats itself in the end because it constantly needs a new target upon which they can focus their blinding rage.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's extremely blatant at this point and they aren't trying to hide it. Support for Republicans is support for American fascism and Christian nationalism at this point. We really need to start acting like it. You wouldn't hire a Nazi. You wouldn't go on a date with one, or allow one in your bar or invite them to thanksgiving. America could defeat Nazis again without lifting a finger, but everyone is too fucking afraid that uncle Marty might get upset to take direct action in their own lives. So we'll end up back to fighting them in the streets one day.

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[-] Smacks@lemmy.world 48 points 11 months ago

My MAGA dad keeps telling me it was an inside job by the Democrats. He's saying everything was filmed way in advance by actors and everything was peaceful because of this mystical "new evidence" coming out; all the cops were a-part of the FBI, CIA, ect.

[-] Uglyhead@lemmy.world 41 points 11 months ago

QanonCasualties. I’m sorry for your loss.

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

my parents are like this. i have never taken them seriously regarding anything

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[-] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago

Look for Republicans to make a holiday of January 6th. It's only a matter of time.

[-] snooggums@kbin.social 14 points 11 months ago

Just like they won't let go of the Confederate Memorial Holiday.

[-] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 30 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The article correctly identifies Fox News and right-wing media as spreading propaganda about Jan. 6th. However, we've known Fox News is not a legitimate news source since at least 2000 or earlier. For every article like this, I am internally screaming: ok, but how do we do to fix this?

The biggest problems seem to be:

  1. Fox News and related right-wing media inoculates viewers against non-extremist sources. They explicitly and implicitly, constantly, tell viewers that other news sources are lying to them and cannot be trusted. When the audience is exposed to actual facts by actual objective reporting, the inoculation kicks in and they immediately reject those facts as liberal lies and conspiracy. Right-wing media frequently also accuses democrats of doing what the GOP is in fact doing in bad faith. Even without evidence, that further undermines legitimate complaints about the GOP's tactics.

  2. Politicians exploit the audience this propaganda has created, to scapegoat and harden voting habits. The same propaganda outlets constantly find liberal boogeymen - immigrant criminals, "woke" nonsense stories, minor issues with liberal programs in America that they amplify and distort, international stories of left-wing failures of governance. A combination of 1984-style 2-minutes-of-hate, and "but for the grace of God and the GOP go we" fear-mongering.

  3. The GOP has successfully tied itself to religion for a huge voting population, and religion for most people is non-negotiable. "Gods, guns and Trump" signs are not just an anecdotal type of supporter - that marriage is the core of the GOP. Religion awards value based on faith, and that actually means the less these voters question Trump and accept him as part of their faith, the better they feel about him. That's a huge problem.

  4. There is no required critical thinking training or teaching in schools to help kids understand how to form their own opinions in the midst of essentially information warfare. Schools can't appear partisan, but to call a spade a spade: Kids are growing up bombarded by propaganda, and by the time they have the facilities to decide for themselves what they think, that environment usually has decided for them.
    .

My best thoughts for fixing:

  1. For #s 1-2, voters need to keep the senate and presidency and take the house this year (no big deal!), and implement a "news" media fact-checking law. Defamation/libel laws are not enough to stop this type of propaganda. It would be difficult within the First Amendment, but I think a law formalizing what is considered "news" that sets a cap on opinion pieces, unsupported speculation, and reporting of non-verifiable facts would be a start and not unconstitutional. No speech would be prevented, but Fox News' brand of trash couldn't be called "news" any longer. The challenge is creating a legal tool that can't easily be misused to enforce the very authoritarian propaganda it's trying to prevent.
  2. For #s 1-2 and 4, state governments could introduce a comprehensive critical thinking curriculum for kids. It's objectively non-partisan to help kids critically assess information in the internet/social media age, so this seems sellable as long as it isn't politicized.
  3. For #3, I don't know the best way. I think at least introducing cognitive dissonance showing how different religion tells us to act versus how Trump and company act would be a start, but it's probably impossible to untangle politics and religion to most on the right.
[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 14 points 11 months ago

In fact the whole "parents choice" movement is very openly and explicitly about making sure that children are not taught critical thinking or exposed to ideological diversity in school.

[-] ItchySunItchyKnee@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

I enjoyed reading your take on this.

As for point #3, is there not already a separation of church and law in the US?

[-] Xiaz@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

To continue upon others threads. In theory, on paper. You are correct. In practice, that was left behind decades ago. Back in the 1940s the Christian Right began to coalesce. In the 70s it became a prominent voting bloc. Cut to present day and you have preachers telling their congregation who to vote for because they have a wink and a smile contract. Hurt the people we hate and we will give you power.

[-] Mirshe@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

It's more than that - you have none other than the Church of Scientology to blame, partially. Thanks to their Operation Snow White back in the 70s, where Scientologists obtained key positions within the IRS and effectively doxxed thousands of IRS members (with the implicit threat of violence), they managed to maintain tax-free status despite operating as a political entity, and killed an entire investigation into their organization in one fell swoop. This spooked the IRS so goddamn much that it changed their entire approach to dealing with religious organizations entirely, and led to the hands-off approach that got us the Moral Majority in the 80s, and the marriage of the GOP to the American religious right.

Unfortunately, "separation of church and state" is a nice goal but leaves a lot to be desired.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a particular religion ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"). However, even that relatively narrow prohibition has been interpreted even more narrowly by conservative Supreme Court justices who only thinly veil, if at all, their favoritism to their particular religion.

Additionally, non-profit orgs are technically prohibited from endorsing candidates and campaigning. However, conservative churches and their pastors frequently give (again) thinly-veiled instructions to vote for Trump or the GOP, without repercussions.

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[-] scripthook@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago

No it's just poisoning the people that have no logical thinking and believe anything Trump says.

[-] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

You’d be surprised. I know personally people who traditionally support the GOP but despise Trump who believe a bunch of the bullshit around January 6 because they hear it from their circles. Like how Antifa was involved.

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[-] Suavevillain@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

The narrative around this event has been downplayed so much that it feels like a non factor for Trump. If it was anyone else in trouble for this there wouldn't be so much debate.

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[-] mhague@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

I think people are too literal when trying to understand each other. If someone says they believe in god, it means they identify as someone who believes in god. If someone says they think the election was stolen, it means they identify as someone who thinks the election was stolen. You don't defeat this with direct education / facts, you give these people an out. They need identities that are constructive and based in reality. Friends, family, culture... it all needs to be rewritten. Then they'll "believe" in reality.

[-] Neato@ttrpg.network 33 points 11 months ago

So why don't they adopt an identity based in reality like the rest of us?

Is it because they want to hate demographics and the one media that supports that pushes irrational thought because their core components are irrational and it's easier to control them like that? I'm actually asking, because that's my best guess.

[-] blazeknave@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

Unfortunately, yes. Main Street never came back with Wall Street and Hillary never set foot in the rust belt. They're hurt and afraid. I'm compassion fatigued to give a pass on Nazism but this is their explanation.

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

You have to drink the poison willingly.

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this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
771 points (96.1% liked)

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