Fake news--this is how it works

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Saturday March 04, 2017 · 5:41 PM PST

2017/03/04 · 17:41

I’ve been puzzling (since November) about how “fake news” actually works. Do people do it on purpose? Is it like a game of telephone where things get distorted as they are communicated? So for the last few days, I’ve been visiting on of my MOC’s web pages and I saw it in action.

Jeff Duncan was in fact at the address to congress last night. He saw what actually happened. And yet, after several ultra right-wing “news” outlets reported that Democrats refused to stand for the widow of the Navy Seal killed in the Cheeto’s first raid, he went to the dark side and accused Democrats of not standing to recognize her. This is the important part—he was *there*. He knows that that’s not what actually happened. But he posted it on his page, and his right wing constituents jumped right on board. His supporters joined the conversation (and I apologize in advance—I couldn’t figure out how to make it just one thing without it getting so long—talking about how they saw it too and found it disgraceful. But that’s not possible, because it never happened. They’ve agreed to believe a falsehood, despite multiple people letting them know where they can go to see what happened.

I noted with a red x on the right each time that happened. On the left the red x marks are the places where someone disagreed and pointed out that this thing that everyone is mad about didn’t actually happen.

We need to figure out a way to combat the disinformation campaign we’re facing.
War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Democrats refused to stand for the Seal widow.

I’m not sure how we’re every going to find common ground if we don’t even agree what reality we’re in. And I’m not sure how we fight political officials—their numbers are now growing—who embrace and spread falsehoods.

Death Panels: Taking 'em back (or what we need to do to save health care)

Teddifish

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Monday November 08, 2010 · 2:55 AM PST

2010/11/08 · 02:55

It's easy to spend time thinking about what just went wrong with the election, but honestly, we don't have that luxury. As we wring our hands and worry abut what we did wrong, republican strategists are putting their efforts toward trying to repeal health care reform. We need to head them off.

As we just saw, it doesn't matter much that what they are saying doesn't mesh with reality. If they control the message about "Obamacare," they can succeed, so it is critical that they don't control that message. The good news is that they've given us rhetoric that is perfect for using against them, if we have the guts to do it.

Teddifish

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Tuesday January 13, 2009 · 5:49 AM PST

2009/01/13 · 05:49

My sense of the Kos community is that for most of us, the inaugural balls will be a bit out of reach. Whether it's because of the distance, the time, or the expense, we won't be attending the "in" parties, but there should be significant numbers of us who can at least be in the area. Maybe some are volunteering, or like me, not from DC, and wondering if anyone still needs extra hands to help out.

I'll be taking the plunge and watching the big screens from the lawn and comforting myself with the thought that it's just as "real" as what the lucky people with tickets are seeing. It will be a novelty to be on the lawn without the sense of outrage and protest that usually brings me there.

But without protest signs, how will we know each other? I know, we're all one and all of that, but are there places that the plebian Kossacks will be gathering?

How to get a job when no one is hiring

Teddifish

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Friday December 05, 2008 · 7:15 PM PST

2008/12/05 · 19:15

I've been reading the diaries from people looking for work, and thought this might be of some use. Over a decade ago, when my husband lost his job, he got sent to one of the "employment coaching" services, and I tagged along. It was gimmicky, and over-promised what it could do, but there were some useful lessons. When I started teaching professional writing, I tweaked some of the approaches and combined them with other techniques to make a "job search" lesson that differs from the usual approach. Usually this is what students say is the most useful part of the class. Maybe it can help someone here.

Teddifish

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Thursday January 17, 2008 · 5:41 PM PST

2008/01/17 · 17:41

For a number of reasons (trying to exemplify "open minded" to my students, wearing my "ONE" t-shirt, and wondering what the hell the attraction is) I went to the Huckabee rally today at Clemson. Honestly, having just seen Edwards speak here, I wondered how alike they would be. And I can say now that they were almost exactly the same. Except that one of them was kind of a scary, backwards, freakshow.

Teddifish

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Wednesday January 09, 2008 · 6:59 PM PST

2008/01/09 · 18:59

I had the chance to see John Edwards "up close and personal" when he held a small rally at the University where I work today. Turnout was quite respectable, especially for a university as solidly conservative as ours. They introduced him by saying he'd been a walk-on for our football team his first year of college. I had not known that.

He looked as handsome and put-together as he always does, but you could tell (if you were close enough, as I was) that he was a bit tired. Nevertheless, he gave a rousing speech, replete with his familiar stories--Nataline, James Lowe etc. More importantly, though, was the way he connected with South Carolina. It gave me hope that perhaps it isn't over for John Edwards, no matter how much the media want to call the primaries for the front-runners already.

Poll

80 votes Show Results

Will a strong showing in the south be enough to win Edwards the nomination?

80 votes Vote Now!

Will a strong showing in the south be enough to win Edwards the nomination?

Damn straight! As the south goes, so goes the nation!

13 votes

Maybe--if the rest of the country pays attention!

51 votes

Maybe--unless we've finally learned our lesson.

2 votes

Not likely--no more marching to banjo music!

4 votes

No way. (Unless he cries)

10 votes

Sick doesn't begin to describe it: Adventures in Health Care

Teddifish

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 15, 2007 · 2:42 PM PDT

2007/10/15 · 14:42

Two weeks ago, Joycelyn Elders spoke at a conference I was attending in Little Rock, and among the bits of wisdom she shared was this: We don't have a health care system. We have a sick care system, because the system doesn't care, until you're sick, and even then they don't care unless you can pay. (That's as close to word-for-word quote as memory allows.) Her words resonated with me, because I'd just had the experience of accompanying my daughter to the emergency room, after a car accident. It was my first opportunity to see just how sick this system really is.

Teddifish

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Thursday September 06, 2007 · 5:21 PM PDT

2007/09/06 · 17:21

Many of you already know me, from my frequent correspondence, asking you to support or fight against various pieces of legislation. Today, however, I am contacting you with a different sort of request. I need a favor from you, and it will take a while--at least until the end of the 2008 election cycle. Here's what I need: A personal commitment from each and every one of you not to do anything illegal, unethical, or especially anything sexually embarrassing.

RSS

Fake news--this is how it works

Death Panels: Taking 'em back (or what we need to do to save health care)

Inauguration Day for the masses--where will the Kossacks be?

How to get a job when no one is hiring

Ever wonder what happens at a Huckabee rally?

Edwards in Clemson, SC today

Sick doesn't begin to describe it: Adventures in Health Care

Open letter to Democratic Candidates