October 7, 2024
a firehose of lies
Welcome to new subscribers.
FYI. I plan to write a series of thoughts about the upcoming election regarding health. This is longer than usual. If you are offended, unsubscribe, but I’d be happy if you stay and read what I have to say.
On March 2, 2020, I started these writings to educate about the pandemic I saw coming. I was in a unique situation, practicing medicine in Seattle, essentially ground zero for a newly identified infection. This was not my first epidemic, having worked with HIV/AIDS patients. Knowing that reliable information was key to keeping people healthy, I was motivated to protect my friends and family across this country. I posted on Facebook and started this newsletter.
I wrote almost every day for more than a year. Then less regularly, but I keep at it. Many of my friends thanked me for the reassurance it gave them. I think it made a difference. I was happy to because I learned that I like to write and have insights that others might not. It felt good to try to make sense of it all.
I watched in alarm as a Twindemic erupted. The disinformation/misinformation flowing was tremendous, increasing as time went on. But I could not imagine the magnification of lies that now flows around us, fueled by more than people angry about the shutdown and vaccines. We are targeted by foreign influences, like Russia and Iran. The Rand Corporation calls it “The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model. TPM Cafe writes about the five types of people who spread conspiracies they know are false, including extremists, combative conspiracists who are governments that mean harm, chaos conspiracists (trolls), profiteers, and attention getters. They influence others.
The problem is that when conspiracies and falsehoods surround people, the center does not hold. They no longer know what is real, they cling to what their leaders and community say. They begin to trust no one, they start questioning things they always accepted like vaccines. It is easy to blame them, shame them, but it could just as easily be us. Today, I got report from NewsGuard that says Liberals are spreading the falsehood that Project 2025 defunds the National Weather Service. Easy for many of us to believe, and reminds us that we too must be vigilant.
The lies have become more outrageous. We are watching this play out in real time in devastated North Carolina regarding aid, about “who controls the weather,” and more. Many have lost touch with what is real. AI is not helping.
I have seen it in medicine too. Doctors convinced the government lied about the effectiveness of ivermectin, lied about Covid, unwilling to see that the science updated as we learned more. Studies ultimately did not show effectiveness, but many are still convinced it does.
My logical brain has a hard time with it all. I do not know how to pull people back to a facts based world. Many are lost and have invested so much into it, not aware of the risks. Similar to “sunk cost fallacy,” they can’t see the truth. Cognitive dissonance is hard to live with, they fear losing friends, family, and community. They come to believe the rest are against them. Heartbreaking.
But something has happened in the horrific flooding and destruction in western North Carolina and other parts of Appalachia. They are resilient and resourceful. Neighbors came together to help each other. All the political signs were swept away. No one asked who you were voting for. It didn’t matter, everyone was in it together. Chain saws came out along with other tools. People shared what they had, helping each other. As humans want to do in the face of such destruction. Lots of stories are out there
And that is the inkling of goodness that we all need to see.
My Old Time Music Community reached out to make sure our loved ones were safe and accounted for, since many live in that area. Warmed my heart to see such care.
Sadly, disinformation came roaring in. Possibly even more harmful than the 14 inches of rain that fell on those hills and hollers. Increased fear and desperation. Increased anger. Hard to help others when you’re angry.
These disseminators of lies are working to make FEMA, President Biden and Vice President Harris look bad, hoping to make Trump look good. These conspiracies cause interference with rescue crews and FEMA. I don’t want to address all the lies. Too many to list. They make the clean up harder.
This should not be about politics. Disasters are non-partisan.
Before Trump, Republicans and Democrats didn’t distinguish between red states and blue states in a disaster, everyone was helped. Trump made things partisan, only wanted to help those he think voted for him. He finally gave California money after a devastating fire when someone told him more people voted for him in Orange County than all of Iowa. Otherwise, he’d refused.
In the meantime, another massive hurricane is headed towards Florida. The Republicans in the House of Representatives voted NO before their recess on giving more funds to FEMA before Hurricane Helene hit. Now they are refusing to return early to pass another funding bill. The cynic in me thinks now they will, since Hurricane Milton is headed to Florida, where the governor won’t talk to VP Harris about aid.
This partisanship is literally harming people’s lives and health. As I wrote in my last post, each Hurricane causes an estimated 7000-11000 excess deaths in the years following.
We are better than that.
Please check your registration, make a plan to vote, and vote on Nov. 5, 2024. Remind your friends and family too.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available. Thanks for reading.
Share this post if you know of others who may be interested. All links are listed at the bottom of this post. The New York Times articles have links that are gift links, allowing you to read the article for free.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/5-types-of-people-who-spread-conspiracy-theories-they-know-are-wrong
https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html
https://time.com/7049576/marjorie-taylor-greene-backlash-comments-amid-hurricane-helene-devastation/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115869
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/108770
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ai-is-destabilizing-the-concept-of-truth-itself-in-2024-election
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/03/helene-trump-politics-natural-disaster-00182419
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07945-5
https://thetacticalfolklorist.medium.com/manufactured-discord-memetic-interruption-of-the-social-determinants-of-health-e1dfb5d7186c
https://www.patreon.com/posts/95395219?utm_campaign=postshare_creator
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ai-is-destabilizing-the-concept-of-truth-itself-in-2024-election/
https://effectiviology.com/gish-gallop/
https://www.vote.org