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@#51

Found this ...

Alternative facts
en.wikipedia.org

... "Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the attendance numbers at Donald Trump's first inauguration as President of the United States.

When pressed during the interview with Chuck Todd to explain why Spicer would "utter a provable falsehood", Conway stated that Spicer was giving "alternative facts". Todd responded, "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."[1]

Conway's use of the phrase "alternative facts" for demonstrable falsehoods was widely mocked on social media and sharply criticized by journalists and media organizations, including Dan Rather, Jill Abramson, and the Public Relations Society of America.

The phrase was extensively described as Orwellian, particularly in reference to the term doublethink. Within four days of the interview, sales of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four had increased 95-fold, which The New York Times and others attributed to Conway's use of the phrase, making it the number-one bestseller on Amazon.com.[2] ...


Part of the problem is that right-wing propaganda has overtaken this country.

Serious public debates or discussions have to start from a place of constantly correcting the lies and misinformation, disinformation, propaganda and distortions that emanate from the right-wing swamp on a constant basis.

YES, the left has a similar yet INFINITELY small problem with this and I would argue that their "propaganda" is within what should be a normal public discourse.

What should be a public discourse on issues, a debate between liberal and conservative views has to start with and expend most of its energy on refuting the constant pile of BS coming from the right.

There are, without a doubt, legitimate positions that conservatives hold and can and should be honestly considered. But when the starting position for ANY topic is the lie of the day by President Piggy or the dishonest propaganda spewed by Fox or OANN or a host of right wing "influencers" combined with the confusion of "news" and "opinion" that is a recipe for disaster and the destruction of journalism.

At best left leaning news organizations must be louder to become part of the discourse, louder being more extreme or more "edgy" to get clicks.

It is difficult to have a public discourse when basic reality is not agreed upon. Right-wing media and the neo fascist republican party has successfully called into question actual reality (at least for a substantial portion of the populace).

And it is extremely corrosive. I have otherwise practical and intelligent people posting memes about celebrities eating ------- babies and when called out about it say "Maybe, anything is possible" No, it is not possible. When average Americans lack the critical thinking skills that is a problem.

"The lawyer also confronted the agent with text messages Exum sent to friends and family in the days after the incident in which he appeared to boast about his shooting skills."

"I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys," one of those messages said.
abcnews.com

Boy is bragging on his shooting skills.
He landed five rounds, and he couldn't even fully neutralize the threat.
You can't make this stuff up.

I don't understand how people like Boaz don't seem to care that the cops will laugh about it and high-five each other after they shoot Boaz.
I really just don't get it.

@#16 ... I think that ultimately you people will have to take the same approach to adverse polling that Trump does. ...

Interesting that Rasmussen, which usually has a right leaning, published the following ...

Trump's Immigration Rating Takes a Hit (January 20, 2026)
www.rasmussenreports.com

... Immigration has long been President Donald Trump's strongest issue with voters, but his ratings have declined amid the controversy over enforcement raids in Minnesota.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 39% of Likely U.S. Voters rate Trump as doing a good or excellent job of handling issues related to immigration -- down from 45% last July " while 49% now give him a poor rating on the issue. (To see survey question wording, click here.) ...


Aid cuts could cause 22m avoidable deaths by 2030

www.theguardian.com

That quite a legacy for pedo 47 and nazi Leon.

@#0 ... Trust in vaccines seems to be at a low point too.

Oddly the vaccines haven't changed. The science hasn't changed. No new studies show any issues. ...

That's a good observation.

It seems that misinformation spread on social media and some other places seem to have contributed to the lowering opinion of vaccines.

Along those lines ...

Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests (June 2025)
www.bbc.com

... Social media and video networks have become the main source of news in the US, overtaking traditional TV channels and news websites, research suggests.

More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube - overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%), according to the Reuters Institute.

"The rise of social media and personality-based news is not unique to the United States, but changes seem to be happening faster -- and with more impact -- than in other countries," a report found. ...

[emphasis mine]


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