Russia was in the news again today. Durham lost another case. Info above for the interested. Post 87.

Not sure if I posted a reference to this book before, but given today the inability of so many to accept among other things Biden's win, thought it relevant.

'Soft Facts'  page 119  'This Is Not Propaganda'

"...Facts seem to have lost their power. There is nothing new about politicians lying, but what seems novel is their acting as if they don't care whether what they say is true or false.

When Vladimir Putin went on international television during his army's annexation of Crimea, and asserted, with a smirk, that there are no Russian soldiers in Crimea when everyone knew there were, and then just as casually later admitted that they had been there, and even publicly awarded medals to the soldiers whom he had earlier said hadn't been there, he wasn't so much lying in the sense of trying to replace one reality with another as saying that facts don't matter. Similarly, Donald J. Trump is famous for having no discernible notion of what is true and factual. Yet this has not in any way been a barrier to his success. According to the fact-checking agency Politifact, 76 percent of his checked statements in the 2016 presidential election were rated "mostly false" or downright untrue, compared to 27 percent for his rival. He still won.'

Why has this happened? Is technology to blame? The media? And what are the consequences in a world where the powerful are no longer afraid of facts? Does that mean one can commit crimes in full view of all? And then just shrug them off?"

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41717504-this-is-not-propaganda

Quote from: midcan5 on October 19, 2022, 05:42:16 AMNot sure if I posted a reference to this book before, but given today the inability of so many to accept among other things Biden's win, thought it relevant.

'Soft Facts'  page 119  'This Is Not Propaganda'

"...Facts seem to have lost their power. There is nothing new about politicians lying, but what seems novel is their acting as if they don't care whether what they say is true or false.

When Vladimir Putin went on international television during his army's annexation of Crimea, and asserted, with a smirk, that there are no Russian soldiers in Crimea when everyone knew there were, and then just as casually later admitted that they had been there, and even publicly awarded medals to the soldiers whom he had earlier said hadn't been there, he wasn't so much lying in the sense of trying to replace one reality with another as saying that facts don't matter. Similarly, Donald J. Trump is famous for having no discernible notion of what is true and factual. Yet this has not in any way been a barrier to his success. According to the fact-checking agency Politifact, 76 percent of his checked statements in the 2016 presidential election were rated "mostly false" or downright untrue, compared to 27 percent for his rival. He still won.'

Why has this happened? Is technology to blame? The media? And what are the consequences in a world where the powerful are no longer afraid of facts? Does that mean one can commit crimes in full view of all? And then just shrug them off?"

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41717504-this-is-not-propaganda

Which political party pushed the Russian hoax for four years? Did politifact ever search for truth in that?

Wish you luck in your next job, too bad you did not learn anything here.