Month: September 2020

Two Hypotheticals and All the Little Lies

A Hypothetical Message From Your President 

“Dear Citizens of the United States. I want you to understand why I concealed from you all that I knew about this vicious new virus back in February 2020. Yes, it’s true as the taped interviews reveal that I knew it was deadly – far deadlier than “the flu.” Yes, I knew it was airborne, could spread easily. Yes, I knew how to get that word out to you and have had medical experts who assured me that all of this was correct. However, I knew something else you might not know. You see, I knew I had to conceal the truth and tell you comfortable lies because of the massive bunch of bozos you are. My superior genius mind knew I couldn’t trust you with the truth or factual information about the risks facing you or you would lose your minds and run amok. Had I told you the truth you would have panicked and hurt the economy. You might have rioted. You could have accused your government of failing you. You might not have voted for me in November. So,  I’m sorry it didn’t work out like we hoped, but I’m sure you understand that a panic would have been bad for everyone, especially me, and this was only way I could think to not have one. Plus, this gave me an opportunity to lie and–let’s face it–that is my wheelhouse; one of my best skills. Yes, I know the death toll is nearing 200,000 people, but you know I never talk about that. It’s almost like it never happened. Thank you for your time. Oh! And thanks for your vote in the upcoming election. I think we can all agree I’ve done a great job of reducing panic and I deserve your support. And God Bless the USA. (Not that I really believe in God or the USA either, but you know, it’s traditional!)

Brilliantly yours,

Donald J Trump, President of the Untied States of America (In case you forgot.)

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A Hypothetical Message from Virtually Any Other Sensible American (Yes, including even a bozo like me who isn’t qualified to be President, but does believe in my nation, its people and science.)  Dated: February 17, 2020.

“My fellow citizens, as you are becoming aware, what we have long feared is happening; a deadly new virus called SARS-Cov-2 is spreading across the globe. This virus creates an illness known as COVID-19 which is lethal for some who get it and puts massive strain on healthcare systems. Already other countries have seen significant consequences both in their health and economic outcomes, so we must act now to prevent as much harm as possible here.

Let me say clearly that, while this situation is serious, there is no reason for panic. We are Americans who have faced many trials in our nation’s past and we will face, endure, and prevail over this one. We have the world’s leading medical and epidemiological experts and they are going to tell us all what we need to do to protect ourselves and those we love from infection and possible death. Please be aware that because this is a new virus, our knowledge and understanding of it will evolve over time, and recommendations may change accordingly, but for now, here is what we do know and need to do.

First of all, the current data suggests this virus is already in the United States and it is potentially more lethal than the flu. Besides treating those who are already ill, stopping the spread of this virus is crucial. This is important not only to protect our own health, but the health of others. Early data from China suggests that, just as with the flu, people who are elderly or immune compromised have greater risk for infection and higher mortality rates. However, everyone is at risk.

Second, early reports suggest that, once a person is infected, they do not immediately become ill, but may be able to infect others before they begin to show symptoms. This is known as “asymptomatic spread” and is a serious challenge.

Finally, all current evidence suggests this virus is airborne which means you do not have to touch something or someone to become infected. It can pass through the air from another person to you if they carry the virus and, as already noted, even before they show symptoms. This is yet another reason why we must take swift action now to stop the spread.

To accomplish this will mean all Americans working together to halt the virus from further in-roads into our nation, and here is what we all need to do. Begin by keeping at least six feet of social distancing when around others. Stay in as much as possible and if you must go out, wear a mask when you are in public, as you see me and those around me doing now.  This will protect you and others. You or anyone around you could be carrying the virus and not know it.

I call upon Congress – both the Democratically-led House and the Republican-led Senate to bring me a funding bill for massive testing and contact tracing of those who test positive for the corona virus. I call upon state and local governments to immediately begin coordinating with the CDC and Health and Human Services to accomplish this massive testing. Details will follow soon. In doing so, we can identify those who are infected, direct them to medical treatment, and limit the danger to others. We can also limit the harm to our economy. If necessary, I will enact the National Defense Production Act to get medical protective gear, ventilators and other crucial materials to those needing them. The CDC is already in conversations with pharmaceutical companies and the World Health Organization to begin work on a vaccine, but that is a long-term solution and will need months of development time, at least. We must anticipate, as we have seen in other countries, that we may need to quarantine, which will impact businesses and employees. We will need funding to meet those needs as well and I expect Congress to address these pressing issues.

This is a challenge. But I know the heart of the American people. You will rise to this occasion, you will make these necessary adjustments and sacrifices and your government will work with you to stop this virus, mitigate its harm, and help you medically and financially to continue your lives. A calm determination to overcome this trial is our best attitude to adopt now.

I now turn the podium over to leading experts to give you more information and answer questions.  We are all in this together and we will prevail. We are going to honor the heritage of those gave us this nation, and protect our children who will inherit it. We will make them proud of how we manage this trying time. God Bless the United States of America and God bless and keep each of you.”

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This latter is the hypothetical message the President—or any honest, intelligent, compassionate person—could and should have delivered to the U.S. early on, followed with regular updates on policy and public health needs guided by science. Instead we were lied to and the risks downplayed because Trump says he wanted to “avoid panic.” Instead, it all fell apart from sheer incompetence. All evidence suggests he wanted to protect his re-election. He has no other agenda. One day, his followers will see that.

Carry On – AB

Hey You! Yes, You!! You’re in the War!!!

I’ve unintentionally shared fake news. The odds are pretty high you have, too. it’s embarrassing, annoying, and uncomfortable. We are in a war and if you are on social media, you are almost certainly a combatant. Russia attacked our 2016 presidential election. Investigations into how the American public was manipulated by Russian cyber strategies report that evoking “outrage” was the easiest and most effective  avenue for spreading disinformation designed to influence elections and to destabilize our nation. On Facebook, Twitter or whatever other media platform you use, it’s easy to share outrage with the click of a button. Right now, there is a lot to be outraged about, but when outrage is whipped up artificially it becomes a weapon. I’m easily outraged, so today I remind myself and encourage all of us to beware of  manipulation. It is one thing to be outraged over actual injustices. It is another to become a tool of a hostile government in a cyber war on our democracy.

Outrage is a powerful tool because it heats up our emotions while simultaneously shutting down our thinking. We feel emotions faster than we think thoughts and our emotions will then color how we process the information as we read it. It requires mature intentions to reign in our emotional impulses and think. It doesn’t matter how intelligent we are or what our political perspective is, we can be had. Outrage arises out of a sense that our values are being violated. The more fundamental those values are to our identity, the more outrage we feel. Also, it feels good and moral to call it out. Sometimes it is, and that is why outrage is a useful part of our emotional repertoire. It also makes us vulnerable to manipulation with lies or twisted facts. This happens on both the political left and right, in sermons, in commercials, in the news, and most especially on social media. We are fed a constant diet of outrage that is turning us into a frightened, angry, and even violent nation.

What can we do? You can, of course, decide just to turn it all off, ignore everything and go about your life. At times, that’s absolutely the right thing to do, but in a democracy, we have an obligation to participate at least in voting. Responsible participation requires that we spend some time getting informed. Perhaps in times of personal crisis we can ignore the world, it is not a wise overall strategy because then our world will be shaped by those who count on our cynicism, ignorance, or non-participation.

To get informed, here are some useful questions about what we’re ingesting on social media:

  1. Is it verifiable that what I’m reading really happened? According to Business Insider in 2019 the top 100 false stories were viewed over 150 million times on social media. That’s about the number of registered voters in the U.S. Out of that Top 100, her are a few from the 2019 Top 10 most-shared “fake news” stories:
    • “AOC (Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] proposed a motorcycle ban. (It didn’t happen.) – 6100 shares
    • “Joe Biden called Trump supporters ‘dregs of society.’” (He didn’t.) – 9500 shares
    • [Congresswoman] “Ilhan Omar Holding Secret Fundraisers With Islamic Groups Tied to Terror” (Never happened.) 14,000 shares
    • “Nancy Pelosi diverting Social Security money for impeachment inquiry.” (No, she wasn’t and didn’t.) – 29,000 shares
    • “Trumps grandfather was a pimp and tax evader, and his father belonged to the KKK” (Neither is true.) #1  (156,000 shares)

Each of these stories are meant to provoke outrage in a segment of the population. Seven of the top 10 most shared false news stories intended to outrage Trump supporters, but the most shared one promoted outrage among Trump’s more liberal opponents.

2. Do I find this outrageous? Just because a story riles me up does not make it false, but it is every reason to slow down and double-check the story. Is the source relatively unbiased? If you’re not sure, you can check where the media source falls on a continuum of skewed Left to Right, and Less Reliable to More Reliable by clicking here.

3. Can I find this story with similar details on news sites rated as “reliable”? Reading the same story on a couple of different sites with different skews can help you both know more about the story and begin to determine which sites are skewed which direction.

4. Does the headline use words like “destroyed” or “explosive”. Does the language in the article use language like “BLM terrorists” or “conservative idiots”? All such language communicates a bias and simultaneously inflames outrage in the intended audience.

Outrage is easy, skews our thinking, and influences our votes based on false information. Thinking is harder, but the more discerning we become the less likely we are to be unintentionally drafted into a cyber war against our own country.

Be careful out there. AB