Browsed by
Category: Politics

Brexit ‘2nd Referendum Petition’ said to be a prank

Brexit ‘2nd Referendum Petition’ said to be a prank

The petition that was supposedly blasting through 3 million signatures 3 days after the Brexit vote, is acknowledged to have been filled with fraudulent signatures added by bots. Source: EXCLUSIVE: Brexit ‘2nd Referendum Petition’ A 4 Chan Prank: BBC Report It As Real | Heat Street The BBC has updated their news report to indicate the petition may contain “suspicious activity” and that fraudulently added signatures have been identified. Fake news runs rampant thanks to social media enabling anyone and everyone to become…

Read More Read More

Scott Adams (“Dilbert”) thinks Donald Trump is a master propagandist

Scott Adams (“Dilbert”) thinks Donald Trump is a master propagandist

I have no idea if Trump is a master propagandist but Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams thinks Trump is highly effective at using the methods of persuasion. Propaganda is a set of methods for persuading others to adopt an action (in this case, vote for Trump): SCOTT ADAMS: I’ve been studying persuasion for decades and when I saw Trump last summer displaying the tools of persuasion I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s not a crazy clown. Everything he’s doing, including his…

Read More Read More

Facebook alleged to suppress anti-immigration content

Facebook alleged to suppress anti-immigration content

Groups opposed to some U.S. immigration programs claim Facebook has suppressed their content and visibility of their groups. These allegation, if true, could be due to algorithm design errors or deliberate. Either way, these allegations illustrate the potential of social media propaganda:

Panama Free Trade Agreement propaganda video is accurate and effective

Panama Free Trade Agreement propaganda video is accurate and effective

TL;DR Summary In 2011, Bernie Sanders spoke forcefully against a free trade agreement with Panama because Panama operates as a tax haven with secret bank accounts. True-Sanders did speak forcefully against the PFTA. True-Panama does have low corporate tax rates, tax havens and banking secrecy. This is an effective propaganda poster (video) because it is topical, makes good use of facts (not false assertions or logical fallacies), and is conveyed simply and directly. It is also unusual for a propaganda…

Read More Read More

Transferring dislike for one on to another using a false quote

Transferring dislike for one on to another using a false quote

TL;DR Summary Poster suggests that Hillary Clinton is advocating the same policies as Adolf Hitler by pairing up alleged quotes from both. There is no evidence that Clinton said this. The quote comes from a book whose author admits he made up quotes. The goal is to transfer one’s dislike for Hitler to Clinton via logical fallacy.

Oregon is not giving free college tuition to everyone

Oregon is not giving free college tuition to everyone

TL;DR Summary This poster was widely distributed on social media propaganda web sites, often in conjunction with Bernie Sanders statement that he would like 4 years of college to be free for everyone. All other states should follow Oregon’s lead, they said. Based on the comments to this poster, as it circulated, most everyone who saw this believed it applied to everyone in Oregon, at any college. Alas, the poster asserts something that is not true.

False Quotes That Spread Like Wildfire on Social Media #Socialmedia #Propaganda

False Quotes That Spread Like Wildfire on Social Media #Socialmedia #Propaganda

TL;DR Summary False quote posters, like this one, appear every day on social media, for and against numerous topics and politicians. Snopes says the quote is completely false. FactCheck.org says the quote is false. These posters work because they convey what the poster wants to believe-if you believe it to be true, than it must be true! (Indeed! I linked to Snopes in a reply to the person who posted this and he replied that he would leave it up…

Read More Read More

False Quotes That Spread Like Wildfire on Social Media

False Quotes That Spread Like Wildfire on Social Media

TL;DR Summary False quote posters, like this one, appear every day on social media, for and against numerous topics and politicians. Snopes says the quote is completely false. FactCheck.org says the quote is false. These posters work because they convey what the poster wants to believe-if you believe it to be true, than it must be true! (Indeed! I linked to Snopes in a reply to the person who posted this and he replied that he would leave it up…

Read More Read More

Cherry Picking #Socialmedia #Propaganda

Cherry Picking #Socialmedia #Propaganda

TL;DR Summary: Example of a simple to understand poster that is out of date and misleading but lives on forever on the Internet! The post is from 2014 but was still being shared in 2015 and 2016. The $15 a month figure is the minimum payment if you are making too much money to qualify for more assistance. State governors largely reversed the changes. The issue has nothing to do with taxing the wealthy and the U.S. still has a future…

Read More Read More

Cherry Picking

Cherry Picking

TL;DR Summary: Example of a simple to understand poster that is out of date and misleading but lives on forever on the Internet! The post is from 2014 but was still being shared in 2015 and 2016. The $15 a month figure is the minimum payment if you are making too much money to qualify for more assistance. State governors largely reversed the changes. The issue has nothing to do with taxing the wealthy and the U.S. still has a future…

Read More Read More