Combating Misinformation
This is a short article about Combating Misinformation by John Hirsh of Polk County.
Combating Misinformation
Misinformation is defined as "information that is not completely true or accurate." (Merriam-Webster.com) Synonyms include lie and untruth. It could be more straightforward to call out misinformation as lies. Antonyms of misinformation include truth and fact.
We are going to be facing daily lies during the next four years. Trump and his wealthy cronies who control some mainstream and social media will be promoting the Republicans' skewed representation of reality with lies and revisionist history. Examples are: our country is a disaster, crime is up, the economy is terrible, illegal immigration is out of control, January 6 was a day of love, and Haitians are eating cats. This is the type of narrative Trump Republicans will broadcast and that many citizens will believe.
We cannot let ourselves be overwhelmed or demoralized. We need to be informed to know what’s true. We need to believe what’s true. Ultimately, we must communicate with truth deniers to understand their perspective and communicate ours.
As Democrats, our challenge is to figure out how to tell our story more effectively to those who need to hear it. Currently, there is a disconnect between many Americans' perceptions of the condition the country is in and the reality of the excellent state of affairs Trump is inheriting. [Read Peter Baker’s NY Times analysis to learn more about this gap. [Source: link]
Republicans have been more effective in driving the narrative to the working class, even if what they are saying is based on lies. In a September 2024 survey of 1,000 registered Pennsylvania voters, the Center for Working-Class Politics found that a populist economic-focused message outperformed those focused on Trump’s threat to democracy and immigration or abortion. [Source: link] The results held across partisan and class categories. The authors tested presidential election messaging examples. The following strong populist message was most effective in combating Trump’s rhetoric, especially among working-class voters.
“Let’s call it like it is: Working-class Americans are struggling while the billionaires just get richer.
We’re paying too much for gas, groceries, and even the medicine we need. It’s time we stand up to big corporations and the politicians in Washington who serve them. I’ll fight to cap prescription drug costs, crack down on price gouging, make sure corporations pay their fair share, and end tax breaks for billionaire crooks. It’s time to put working families first.”
In a January 2 NY Times editorial, James Carville discusses communication focusing on the economy - “To win back the economic narrative, we must focus on revving up a transformed messaging machine for the new political paradigm we now find ourselves living in. It’s about finding ways to talk to Americans about the economy that are persuasive. Repetitive. Memorable. And entirely focused on the issues that affect Americans’ everyday lives.” [Source: link]
So, there are two parts to fighting lies: truthful information and communication. This newsletter will strive to provide truthful information and call out the lies.
Setting the Record Straight
Lie:
Trump won an unprecedented and powerful mandate with a landslide victory.
Truth:
Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote.
Trump’s 2024 raw vote margin was smaller than any popular vote winner since 2000 and 5th lowest since 1960 [Source: link]
On a percentage basis, Trump’s winning margin was the fourth smallest since 1960.
The 2024 election was among the five tightest elections since 2000. However, Trump won the seven battleground states by a wider margin than Biden did in 2020. (It’s the Electoral College, stupid.)
Lie:
Under Border Czar Harris, our communities are being ravaged by migrant crime
Truth:
Immigrants have had lower incarceration rates than US-born citizens for 150 years.
Immigrant incarceration rates have declined since 1960 in all regions of the country.
Immigrants are 30% less likely to be incarcerated compared to US-born whites. (National Bureau of Economic Research [Source: link]
Light and Miller studied the relationship of undocumented immigrants and violence from 1990 – 2014. In the only study looking at undocumented immigrants, they found that there was no correlation between undocumented immigrants and violence. [Source: link]
Lie:
Crime is through the roof
Truth:
The impact of repeated messaging about crime being off the charts is that 64% surveyed in the Annual October Gallup Crime Poll thought there is more crime than one year ago.
The latest FBI Quarterly Uniform Crime Report (Jan-Jun 2024) reported that violent Crime decreased by 10.3% compared to the same time period in 2023. [Source: link]
Murder decreased by 22.7%; robbery by 13.6%; rape by 17.7% and property crime by 13.1%.
This is preliminary data reflecting 72% of the reporting enforcement population. An update will be released when 80% have reported.
