Americans Believe Russian Disinformation ‘To Alarming Degree’
www.forbes.com
A third of Americans have fallen for Russian disinformation as well as other false online claims about health, elections and international conflict.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28650252

Americans Believe Russian Disinformation ‘To Alarming Degree’

Republicans were, though, more likely to believe Russian disinformation claims than their Democratic counterparts, with 57.6% falling for at least one Russian disinformation claim, compared with just 17.9% of Democrats and 29.5% of people who didn’t identify with one particular party.

  • WatDabney@sopuli.xyz
    24·
    16 hours ago

    Republicans are primed to believe misinformation, since much of their ideology is founded on it.

    That’s also the reason that they take issue with Wikipedia, much of the mainstream media, universities and most forums - because in an environment in which truth matters and falsehood is generally exposed and/or stifled, they necessarily see and can repeat fewer of the comforting lies that form the basis for their ideology.

    In fact the central pillar of conservatism is inevitably a lie - they wish to maintain some present or recreate some past that does not and never did actuslly exist. Then they just pile on the lies from there.

    So necessarily, already, all that’s relevant to them is whether or not a claim fits into the web of lies they already believe. So all anyone so inclined has to do is present them with something that fits with the lies they already believe, and they’ll not only believe it, but accuse anyone who treats it as a lie of trying to censor them.

    And present it with enough all-caps EMPHASIS and EXCLAMATION POINTS that they KNOW that it’s the TRUTH!!