All The Noise We Cannot Hear

Half of Americans voted for Trump. They are not consuming Mainstream media

There are so many media outlets now that Americans simply pick the “news” they believe in. The left has MSNBC and a few websites, podcasts, radio shows, and cable channels, where the right has hundreds. It’s an example of how far behind the left is where propaganda is concerned.

"No matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat." That’s Roy Cohn, lawyer to both Sen. Joseph “There’s a Commie under every bed” McCarthy, and ex-president, reality TV star, and grifter, Donald J. Trump. Experts said that barring a Harris landslide, Trump was likely to declare victory prematurely. He didn’t need to reach for it; it came to him.

When it comes to insinuation, innuendo and outright lying, the left is no match for the right. If you’re living in the right-wing silos, it’s unlikely you have heard much fact-based reporting. An example from CNN: “Pro-Trump outlets consistently say immigration is issue #1 while minimizing abortion. If a "diverse, women-driven Roe coalition" ultimately carries Harris to victory, many right-wing media consumers will be stunned.”

According to PRRI's polling work":

"Americans who trust conservative news outlets are the most likely to support political violence (41%), followed by 30% of those who most trust Fox News, 18% of those who do not watch any TV news, and 13% of those who most trust mainstream TV news."

Negative polarization is driving everything:

75% of Republicans who believe Trump won 2020 say they somewhat or strongly agree that Democrats are "not just wrong for politics, they're downright evil," according to this new data from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins. "Only 27% of Republicans who think President Joe Biden won in 2020 agree with the sentiment. Meanwhile, less than half of Democrats consider Republicans evil."

From the watchdog, PressWatchers.org: “One of the biggest journalistic failures of the last decade has been to insufficiently rebut the massive amounts of disinformation spewing out of Fox News and other parts of the right-wing ecosphere.” They wonder aloud if media in general is ready for the huge storm the Trumpers have in store for the rest of the American people. They’re calling it a “Category 5 Disinformation Storm.”

•Pew Research informs us that 39% of young adults get their news from TikTok:

The generation that came of age in the #MeToo era is seeing the infamous Access Hollywood tape for the first time, and are shocked that Trump bragging about committing sexual assault was not a deal breaker. I’ll be curious to see the demographic breakdown of how Gen Z voted, and in what numbers.

Last week Trump suggested to the equally lovable Tucker Carlson that Liz Cheney should executed.  I’m waiting for the media to blast that threat out to the world, but I’m getting crickets. Put the until-recently third-highest-ranking Republican before a firing squad because she was more loyal to the country than Trump? How hard is it to call that out? Too hard, apparently. They reported it as if they were reporting a car crash. No immediacy; no particular importance.

Only David Graham in The Atlantic has had the cojones to take a stand:

“These remarks cannot be written off as joking around, the excuse that Trump has typically used when he’s crossed lines. (He seems less concerned about disapprobation these days.) Trump didn’t laugh when he said it. Neither did Carlson or the audience. Besides, Trump has repeatedly called for the armed forces to be used against his political critics. He’s proposed deploying the military against the “enemies from within,” a group that includes ‘radical left lunatics’ generally, but also former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff, both California Democrats. He’s amplified calls on Truth Social for former President Barack Obama to face a military tribunal (for what crimes, one can only guess). He has said that retired General Mark Milley, whom he appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be executed.”

Invisible

The messaging app Telegram houses an entire media infrastructure most know nothing about. Fifty Telegram channels debuted after the 2020 election and are the foundation of “election denialism.” Of course, that’s not what they call themselves, instead these wild-eyed conspiracy theorists want to be referred to as “election integrity” groups.

Telegram, and other under-the-mainstream-radar groups that exist in cyberspace, come to life as they encourage their supporters to don their tactical gear, grab their assault rifles, and head to the polls, particularly in Democratic areas, where they intended—unnecessarily, it turned out—to intimidate. Barring all else, if by the end of this, Trump wasn’t declared the winner, they were already encouraging their supporters to violence.

According to the FBI, many videos now surfacing on social media are produced by Russian troll farms taking advantage of our open society. It means we have to be careful out there.

©2024 Jon Sinton