The e-mail rumor mill is run by conservatives

[TygrBright]

WaPo: The email rumor mill is run by conservatives

But it has become a truism that in their modern, Internet-driven form, these persistent narratives spread far faster and deeper than ever. And they share an unexpected trait: Most of the time, Democrats (or liberals) are the ones under attack. Yes, George W. Bush had some whoppers told about him — such as his alleged scoffing that the French “don’t have a word for ‘entrepreneur’ ” — but when it comes to generating and sustaining specious and shocking stories, there’s no contest. The majority of the junk comes from the right, aimed at the left.

We’re not talking here about verifiably inaccurate statements from the mouths of politicians and party leaders. There’s plenty of that coming from all sides. And almost all of those statements are out in the open, where they get called out relatively quickly by the opposition or the mainstream media.

Instead, it’s the sub rosa campaigns of vilification, the can-you-believe-this beauts that land periodically in your inbox from a trusted friend or relative amid the noise of every political season.

This sort of buzz occurs out of earshot of the news media. It gains rapid and broad circulation by being passed from hand to hand, from friend to relative to co-worker. Its power and credibility come from its source. Aunt Sally isn’t just some reporter or anchor; she’s a dear family member. You know her. She wouldn’t lie to you, would she?

Quelle surprise...

jadedly,
Bright

[zeemike]

1. And I suspect it is a well financed machine.

Some of the stuff I have seen is really too unbelievable for even the most skeptical person...but it seems not to matter because those that have minds full of hate will believe anything that is directed at the ones they hate.
And it almost seems like a sickness to me.

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. I always believed that it was some basement job at the Hetitage foundation.....

or someplace like that.
They do know their audience.

[Scuba]

3. Sadly, "verifiably inaccurate statements from the mouths of politicians" are allowed to stand...

... we heard every single Republican candidate for President say that "everyone knows that Social Security is broke" yet no one - no one - has ever called them on it.



Social Security is not broke. It has a $2.6 Trillion fund, solvent for more than two decades.

By comparison, the US Army as no fund and will be broke when the current budget year ends.

[oldhippydude]

4. yep

Scuba.. i hear Scarborough say .. "revenue goes up when taxes go down"... heard that for the last 30 years.. all that stuff just goes unchallenged..

a lot of that e-mail stuff i get has a more dominionist taste to it, rather than just political conservatives.. i would be willing to bet that the fundies are in to a large extent, in charge of the rumor mill..

[Scuba]

5. This OH WOW* agrees fundies are part of the problem.

* Old Hippy, WithOut Worries.

[Chakaconcarne]

6. My parents send me this crap all the time...

It drives me insane because I ALWAYS feel inclined to refute it (which isn't hard, but it takes time). When I do, I never hear another word about it, just get sent the next piece of crap. They send this stuff out en masse. I try to be nice with my responses, but all the while thinking... how the fuck can you be so gullible? The emails are anonymous spam but it fits their beliefs so they gobble it up.

I'd like to know who the source is. I think I tried to research it a while back, but didn't get very far.

[eridani]

11. When I do a refutation, I hit Reply All

That stops the crap for awhile usually.

[MedicalAdmin]

7. Aunt Sally is a fucking racist loon.

And I ignore or lambast her for every idiotic email she sends me. I slice her to metaphorical pieces and then make sushi out of what is left over.

And the witch has it coming for spreading that drivel.

[The Wizard]

8. And they end with

"Let's keep this going."

[Populist_Prole]

9. Or "Send this to everybody you know!"

I get absolutely deluged by right wing garbage forwarded to me. Much of it recycled to fit the present administration via a name change.

[greymattermom]

10. email is so not today

If I want my kids to look at their email, I have to text them or PM them on facebook. Email spam doesn't reach folks under a certain age. So, just let them know that email is so last century, not cool, whatever it takes.

[rpannier]

12. I don't get them any more

Used to.
But they stopped coming
Makes me smile