CommentsMY TURN-A University of Oxford study shows what most of us already knew: conservatives buy into, believe, share, and propagate more false narratives under the guise of “news” than any other group. Of course, these are also the individuals who will be the first to scream “fake news” when it comes to truth in reporting by other media sources.
This is not the first time we have seen this happen in history; during pre-World War II, the fascist regime and Brown Shirts yelled the term “Lugenpresse” (false press) at any non-government approved news. However, it may be the first time there has been an actual study done that proves the very people ranting about fake news are those who are spreading it.
The Oxford study addressed:
“What kinds of social media users read junk news? We examine the distribution of the most significant sources of junk news in the three months before President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address. Drawing on a list of sources that consistently publish political news and information that is extremist, sensationalist, conspiratorial, masked commentary, fake news and other forms of junk news, we find that the distribution of such content is unevenly spread across the ideological spectrum. We demonstrate that on Twitter, a network of Trump supporters shares the widest range of known junk news sources and circulates more junk news than all the other groups put together; on Facebook, extreme hard right pages — distinct from Republican pages — share the widest range of known junk news sources and circulate more junk news than all the other audiences put together; on average, the audiences for junk news on Twitter share a wider range of known junk news sources than audiences on Facebook’s public pages.”
Conservatives Believe Absolutely Anything
The concept of extreme stories that have been segmented as so-called “news” is also not new. At one time, U.S. News fell under reporting guidelines and there was a requirement for truth-in-reporting. During that era, the only time you would see any of what we might consider ridiculous nonsense was in the tabloids that appeared at the grocery store checkout lanes. There we would witness everything that ran the gamut of total idiocy to the fantastic; and common sense people knew it was just a ploy. All of this changed when President Reagan destroyed the Fairness Doctrine, and, along with his friend Rupert Murdoch, who had great success in white-trash tabloids in the U.K., opened the doors for sources such as Fox to be established. By doing this, they had the ability to create anything they wanted, no matter how bizarre and untrue, and present it as “news.”
We can also add one additional element to the formula, and this appeared in the reality television shows. What began as a method of entertainment during the writer’s strike, has transitioning into one of the most cost-effective ways TV channels can supply shows to the masses, making them believe the pre-set and planned presentations are “real.” Fake reality is something many love to watch as they exist vicariously in the many strange situations.
The results of decades of this combination of brainwashing propaganda and entertainment is that we now have generations that cannot differentiate between reality, lies and entertainment. According to the study, a majority of these people are conservatives.
I have covered the analytical and psychological review of the conservative mind and the influence that the right-wing media has had on them in my article: How Fox Brainwashed Conservative America where I include:
In an article by PsychologyToday which stated:
“An interesting study by Fessler et al. (in press) found that conservatives are more receptive to believing false negative information regarding hazards (relative to benefits) than liberals. This is called negatively-biased credulity. The study was covered in The Atlantic by Olga Khazan in “Why Fake News Targeted Trump Supporters.”
It should be noted that the purveyors of these foreign and domestic fake news sites admitted they couldn’t do the same thing with standard liberals as they were caught when they “fact checked”.
In yet another article I wrote entitled: The Trump “Lugenpresse” (Lying News):
Demonstrating the Stupidity of the American Conservative, there is additional information that backs up the Oxford study:
“Trump Supporters Don’t Even Know Who George Orwell Is
Oh sure, the rabid conservatives have probably heard the term “Big Brother is Watching You”, but I am going out on a limb here to state that they have never read Orwell’s “1984,” even though it was required reading for many of us attending schools that offered good instruction.
One of the most chilling quotes from that book (and there are many) is:
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell
Sound familiar?”
This is not to say there aren’t liberals who don’t fall prey to false narratives. Psychology dictates that we want to locate and believe those ideologies that agree with our own. But here’s the difference: liberals are much more likely to fact check and be skeptical of the information they receive. We liberals will actually call each other out on anything that is shared that we find to be false and the other individuals express thanks because “we don’t want to be like the rabid right.”
Conservatives Don’t Care That They are Being Fed Lies
The Newsweek article that covers the Oxford study addresses this in their statement:
“Fake news published in the U.S. was overwhelmingly consumed and shared by right-wing social media users, a new study from the University of Oxford has revealed.
Research from Oxford’s ‘computational propaganda project’ investigated into the sources of “junk news” shared in the three months leading up to President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address last month.
On Facebook, they found that ‘extreme hard-right’ conservatives shared more fake news stories than all other political groups combined, while on Twitter, Trump supporters consumed the most fake news.”
The problem with conservatives is multifaceted: First they will buy into just about any bizarre tale they want to believe and secondly, even when informed that it is false, they will refuse to believe it.
I cover this rather strange scenario in my article: It’s a Lie! (Favorite Response From Conservatives)
“Yes, I admit, when dealing with these people that might otherwise seem like every day ‘folks’, I often feel like I should break out the crayons. There is a litany of data and information supplied by fact checking organizations that demonstrate the inability of the Republicans to actually ‘lead’ and instead fill our government with nonstop criminal activities while they line their pockets and those of their donors and turn the economy upside down.
What is mind boggling is that while all of these conservatives are touting outright falsehoods, they actually believe that they are patriotic Americans! They will attack anyone that doesn’t follow blind patriotism, have no understanding of how protest is part of our American history, and if you scratch beneath the surface, you find out that they literally know little about history at all! In their misbegotten minds, they see their own whitewashed version of our forefathers and the belief that anyone that isn’t a ‘my country do or die’ is an outcast.”
The fact is, conservatives not only don’t care they are being fed lies, they actually want to have additional false information fed to them to appease their psychologically misaligned ideologies. This is a sick and twisted method of brainwashing and we know that propaganda over long periods of time can and does create a cult mentality.
What we are seeing now is a transition from what was once common sense conservatives to the extreme right and this has happened before. During ever moment of pre-fascism, leaders stepped up to begin the process of propaganda; from blaming specific religions and cultures to the complete removal of all media except “government approved”, this is a pattern many of us learned to recognize and we are witnessing it in the current government.
Our allies are distancing themselves from the United States and Trump and his group of idiots are trying to create a banana republic with him at the helm as a dictator wannabe. Never before has America been so close to destruction and world leaders are making plans to move forward without the U.S.
There is no way to convince, talk to, or even reason with conservatives. Like any cult, they are adamant about what they believe and will do and say anything to validate the lies. Our only hope is to stand up to them in both the voting polls and, if necessary, in protest in the streets. Without logic and fact checking, our very survival as a country is on the line.
(S. Novi is a journalist who worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one who is suspicious of cults and empty promises. Her posts originate at Medium.com. She is a contributor to CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
