The thing about “misinformation” is you have to believe that the authorities and fact checkers are telling you the truth in the first place. If they are caught in lies, or half truths by omission, you start to question what the truth is, and worse, the true motive behind their narrative correction. This may be hard to believe, but before 2020, I generally believed “the government.” Today, I verify everything. It’s 1984 and the movie “The Matrix” is looking more prescient by the day.
Early in 2020, Dr. Fauci said masks wouldn’t stop COVID.
"Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection.
"The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you."
And yet, we had mask mandates for almost 2 years and the government is appealing the court decision that said mask mandates on planes were an overstep in authority by the CDC. Then there was this one from President Biden.
"You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations. If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalized, you’re not going to be in the ICU unit, and you’re not going to die."
The fact checkers had no problem with it. They conveniently add “missing context” to clarify the totally incorrect statement and then bless it.
Historic defenders of public policy over the last 2 years have a lot of “Yeah, buts….” as explanations for these errors while people who called them out got censored and banned for doing so. Worse, the Government set up a Department of Misinformation to help correct the public record and protect everyone from …. From … debate? Discussion? Pointing out the obvious lies? Officially, the department was shut down, but no doubt it will be rebranded and returned eventually. The narrative is simply too important. We still have the Patriot Act as a result of 9/11, despite the incredible overreach and abuse of power that it enables.
So, for me, when the CDC issues guidance for people to begin wearing masks again to protect them from monkeypox, even their most ardent supporters should have questions.
As a reminder, this is what is on the CDC’s own website.
And they want you to wear a mask?? Seriously, defund the CDC.
There is a lot of misinformation. It’s true. About vaccine efficacy. About side effects. About climate change. About the energy transition. Sadly, most of it is coming from the people who declared misinformation a terror threat.
Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland
The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors. These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence. Mass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted violence conducted by lone offenders and small groups acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances pose an ongoing threat to the nation. While the conditions underlying the heightened threat landscape have not significantly changed over the last year, the convergence of the following factors has increased the volatility, unpredictability, and complexity of the threat environment: (1) the proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions; (2) continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure; soft targets and mass gatherings; faith-based institutions, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques; institutions of higher education; racial and religious minorities; government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement and the military; the media; and perceived ideological opponents; and (3)calls by foreign terrorist organizations for attacks on the United States based on recent events.
Our government is the TERRORIST in the room…DEFUND IT. We are not getting what we are paying for.
Excellent work DRW