From The Atlantic:
How new technologies and techniques pioneered by dictators will shape the 2020 election
McKay Coppins pretended to be a Trump supporter on Facebook, and soon found himself in an alternate universe.
As I swiped at my phone, a stream of pro-Trump propaganda filled the screen: “That’s right, the whistleblower’s own lawyer said, ‘The coup has started …’ ” Swipe. “Democrats are doing Putin’s bidding …” Swipe. “The only message these radical socialists and extremists will understand is a crushing …” Swipe. “Only one man can stop this chaos …” Swipe, swipe, swipe.
I was surprised by the effect it had on me. I’d assumed that my skepticism and media literacy would inoculate me against such distortions. But I soon found myself reflexively questioning every headline. It wasn’t that I believed Trump and his boosters were telling the truth. It was that, in this state of heightened suspicion, truth itself—about Ukraine, impeachment, or anything else—felt more and more difficult to locate. With each swipe, the notion of observable reality drifted further out of reach.
People outside the bubble often think that the truth will pierce it, but the people inside don’t want to know the truth.
One woman told me that, given the president’s accomplishments, she didn’t care if he “fabricates a little bit.” A man responded to my questions about Trump’s dishonest attacks on the press with a shrug and a suggestion that the media “ought to try telling the truth once in a while.” Tony Willnow, a 34-year-old maintenance worker who had an American flag wrapped around his head, observed that Trump had won because he said things no other politician would say. When I asked him if it mattered whether those things were true, he thought for a moment before answering. “He tells you what you want to hear,” Willnow said. “And I don’t know if it’s true or not—but it sounds good, so fuck it.”
Some Democrats want to adopt similar tactics. Others think that the difference between us and them is that we don’t do this stuff.
The article describes Tara McGowan (yes, that Tara McGowan) as straddling both camps. She draws the line at ads giving fake dates for election day, but thinks anything legal is fair game. She and David Plouffe plan to spend $75 million attacking Trump on social media.
Some state officials called on the DNC to officially disavow the use of bots, troll farms, and deep fakes; they chose not to.
I’m not sure what I think of all this. One the one hand, we can’t fight with one hand tied behind our backs. On the other hand, some of these tactics are really gross.