In case you hadn’t marked it on your calendars, the World Economic Forum (think Nerd Prom for people even less hip than the White House Correspondents’ Dinner) met and gave its opinion on the biggest threat in 2024. Was it post-COVID economic instability? Was it the impact on oil production if the Middle East continues to fight like the Hatfields and McCoys with heavy artillery? Was it the impact Bitcoin and other e-currency will have on the free market?
Nope. It was misinformation and disinformation.
Oh, they also mentioned climate change and the polarization of society in the top 3, but out of all the other subjects, some of them even related to economics, these high-fallutin’ asshats chose misinformation/disinformation to worry about?
Well, that’s by design, kids, as we’ll soon find out.
misinformation/disinformation
What the Left thinks it means – information that erodes confidence in trusted institutions and sources of information
What it really means – information the Left can’t bullshit their way out of
Politics is dishonest because, let’s face it, modern politicians are lying assholes. So much of what they do revolves around releasing certain information and hiding other information that would damage The Party. And once the lie is no longer useful or needed, it’s memory-holed as though it never happened. Remember, Mitt Romney was the second coming of Hitler back in 2012, but then became a good Republican a few years later. Now, the Left would have us believe it was because the GOP and Donald Trump supporters in particular took the party to the far right, but the real reason is far easier and more believable.
Romney wasn’t the monster the Left made him out to be in 2012.
If that isn’t misinformation or disinformation, I don’t know what is. The thing is the Left doesn’t know what these terms mean either, or if they do they absolutely suck at recognizing it. While they’re quick to point out misinformation and disinformation when it comes to the Right (which is a valid point given some of the stupid shit Trump says on the regular), they have a blind spot when it comes to someone who says equally stupid shit, like MSNBC’s Joy Ann Reid.
Now, if Reid were an outlier, the Left would have an easy defense. Of course, she’s not. MSNBC is staffed with people less trustworthy than 3 day old gas station sushi. Or 3 minute old Chipotle. But, of course, when they engage in misinformation/disinformation, it’s perfectly fine because they’re doing it for the right reasons.
Like getting underinformed people to believe their bullshit!
That’s the target of any misinformation or disinformation campaign: getting people who are just aware enough to know the key facts and figures of a situation, but not aware enough to know where they have knowledge gaps. In today’s society, that’s more common than a bad Michael Bay movie. Most of us have access to a wealth of information at our fingertips, but we still fall for obvious half-truths and impossible notions because a) we hate to admit we’re dumber than we actually are, or b) we want to believe the lie.
From there, the impact of misinformation and disinformation gets a lot bigger. Whether it’s ego or a desire to believe the implausible because it fits our personal narratives, the more we get intellectually mired into believing something that isn’t true, the harder it is to reverse our thinking. This is a little thing the kids like to call the Dunning-Kruger effect, which encapsulates both the ego and the desire I just mentioned. To put it simply, it’s literally your ego writing checks your brain can’t cash.
Even though the World Economic Forum isn’t exactly the best vehicle to deliver this lesson, the lesson is worth learning as we go into the election this year. After all, the Left is fully behind the WEF’s report, so that means it’s less credible than Eric Swalwell talking about how to avoid Chinese spies. And, it gets funnier. Frequent Leftist misinformers Brian “Potato” Stelter and Philip “I Don’t Have a Vegetable-Themed Nickname” Bump have raised the alarm about misinformation/disinformation, with the latter going so far as to say doing your own research actually helps people be uninformed.
And people wonder why my opinion of the media is lower than the tip of a male snake’s condom.
What Stelter, Bump, and the Left actually want is for you to not do your homework and just believe what you’re told. Of course, when they get shit wrong, they also want you to overlook the facts and still believe them because they have all the really truthful people on their side. Just look at all the doctors, scientists, and experts who agree! You know, like Dr. Fauci!
This, kids, is a logical fallacy called an appeal to authority. Just because an expert says something doesn’t make it factual because of his or her station. They could be just as fucking stupid as your next door neighbor who thinks Elvis is alive and living in a trailer park in Missouri. This is precisely why you need to verify the information you’re getting, especially if the information is too good to be true.
I’m looking at you, Rachel Maddow.
Although I’ve ragged on the Left primarily for misinformation and disinformation (mainly because they’re the ones claiming to be fighting against it while actively engaging in it), the Right doesn’t have clean hands. In a campaign ad prior to the Iowa Caucuses, Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s PAC ran an ad bragging how how handily she would beat Joe Biden in a head-to-head election match-up, and noted how Donald Trump couldn’t. The problem? Trump’s “loss” was within the margin of error for the poll, meaning it was still possible for him to beat Puddin’ Head Joe. But that didn’t mean she stopped running it or that Haley supporters stopped believing it. Given her third place finish in Iowa, I’d say the only thing that the ad accomplished was turning off voters like me who can do math.
Which goes back to my earlier point about modern politicians being fucking liars. And as long as they’re allowed to get away with it, they’ll keep doing it.
That’s where you all come in. Hold every source of information to the same standard: tell the truth or go the way of Hunter Biden ever getting a job as the Drug Czar. That includes me. If I ever lead you astray, call me out on it. I welcome the scrutiny and it makes me a better correspondent.
The Left, on the other hand, don’t want you asking inconvenient questions like “Are you sure you’re being honest with me?” or “Just how full of shit do you think my head is?” They need you to believe, nothing more. Yet, if you look at their track record over the past, oh, year or so, you’ll find there’s not much of a reason to trust them. So, question them. Back up your thoughts with facts from multiple sources. Look for logical fallacies. Trace back the information using the “who benefits” model. And above all else, don’t continue to believe something that’s been disproven by reputable sources. The Left and the Right need you to be unthinking drones, and being one step ahead of them freaks them the fuck out.
So, good on the World Economic Forum for raising this issue. After all, if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t have much of a Lexicon entry this week!
Tag: joy reid
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
This past week was another one rich with possible Lexicon topics, but one person dominated the week, as well as Leftist twits on Twitter. I’m speaking of Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and Space-X and recent critic of Leftist ideas. It’s the latter one that has gotten him in hot water with Leftists, namely Senator Elizabeth Warren and MSNBC host Joy Reid, who recently had some not-so-kind things to say about Musk and what they think he should be doing with his billions of dollars.
Because they’re experts on spending other people’s money, apparently.
As much fun as it appears Musk is having giving the Left the business, I’m afraid the Left is more than willing to take it from him, literally. So, while he’s still in the public eye instead of the poorhouse, let’s take a look at the man who makes Leftists froth like Cujo drinking a frothy root beer float in the middle of a bubble run.
Elon Musk
What the Left thinks it means – an evil billionaire who cheats the system and doesn’t pay his fair share in taxes
What it really means – the man who built a better mousetrap, but has people beating a path to his door…to tar and feather him
People’s reactions to success are fun to observe. Some love to see others to succeed. Others hate to see it. Still others take personal offense at someone else doing better than they are and think it’s unfair. Those who fall in the latter category tend to hate the successful with a hatred that burns hotter than a million suns.
Guess which category Leftists fall into.
On paper, Elon Musk would be a billionaire Leftists should love. He’s a big advocate of alternate fuels. He produces electric cars that people want to buy because they look cooler than a Prius. A low bar, I know, but it should be underscored anyway. He takes up (or at least used to) support Leftist ideas on climate change. He’s greener than a sea-sick leprechaun.
But it’s a different kind of green the Left cares about here. He’s broken the cardinal rule of Leftist climate change advocacy: he’s figured out how to fix the problem and make money doing it. See, Leftists don’t really want to fix climate change because it makes them too much money ginning up fear, so they prolong actually doing something about it. And no matter how much eco-weinies like the Socialist Socialite whine, the recycled aluminum can keeps getting kicked down the road, well past the numerous end times that have been predicted for decades. By the way, Leftists, the estate of Dr. Harold Camping would like a word. Something about stealing their act.
Although this chaps Leftists’ hides (Musk’s success, not the Harold Camping thing), their hatred of him stems from the wealth he’s amassed by being good at what he does, Tesla truck notwithstanding. To them, anyone else who is wealthy did so through dubious means. You know, like purposely tanking the currency of a country. No, wait, that’s George Soros, a billionaire Leftists love. So, why do Leftists hate Musk again? Oh, yeah, he’s making “too much money” and took government subsidies to help Tesla get started and grow. Normally, Leftists don’t care if you take subsidies and, in fact, encourage it. But when you use subsidies and, you know, realize the Left’s ideas are nuttier than squirrel shit, then you’re a freeloader. At least that’s what Joy Reid said, in response to Sen. Warren saying Musk isn’t “paying his fair share.”
Those statements alone were enough to get Leftist Twits…er, Twitter users up in arms. In response, Musk told the world he was paying $15 billion in taxes due to him selling shares. Maybe a little TMI, especially to people who would find fault with anything he did outside of prostrating himself before Chief Running Mouth and begging for forgiveness. And even then they wouldn’t trust him. Having said that, Musk used it as the jumping off point for a serious question Reid and Warren aren’t ready for: what constitutes someone’s fair share?
That’s when Leftist number crunchers started talking about percentages rather than actual payments because the percentages make Musk look worse, thus fitting the narrative. What the Left fails to realize here is…they’ve just made the case for a flat tax rather than the current progressive tax rate. Of course, then they’ll complain about Musk paying the same percentage as lower class people, so the tax rates have to be adjusted so people who make more have to pay more.
Which just goes to show Leftists won’t be happy no matter how you try to appease them. Oh, and they suck at math.
The thing that irks the Left the most is what Musk did is perfectly legal. He accepted federal funds and pays his taxes within the current tax oppression…I mean code. In both cases, Congress made these things possible for Musk to use to his advantage, but they’re going to wash their hands of their role in this matter and simply accuse Musk of skirting the law when he’s actually following it. And it’s easy to do because it feeds into the Left’s disdain for the wealthy (except for their wealthy donors, of course) and into feelings of jealousy we all have. It’s a perfect system.
At least, until someone decides to break it.
That’s what Musk is doing here. He’s defending himself and his business practices while letting the Elizabeth Warrens and Joy Reids of the world throw accusations at him that he’s a no-good-downright-rotten-evil-rich-guy. Although Leftists will rally behind Warren and Reid, the rest of us who are paying attention see what’s happening: Leftists are throwing anything they can think of at the wall and seeing what sticks. When you boil down their objections, they have nothing substantive. Elon Musk is a man walking the walk while they talk and talk.
And for the purpose of transparency, I admit I am an Elon Musk fan, but I liked the cut of his jib before he started to be the bane of Leftists’ existences. I’ve found him to be visionary, forward-thinking, and brilliant in the way he looks at problems. The Twitter trolling he does is just the icing on the cake. Maybe someday the Left will realize what I’ve seen and come around to my point of view. Needless to say, I’m not holding my breath.
Besides, Musk is originally from South Africa, which makes him a literal African-American. And from what I’ve heard from the Left, if you hate an African-American, you’re a racist!
Don’t look at me. I didn’t make the rules!