The Electronic Roots of Delusion

 

“A convincing lie can get halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”

 

I work as outreach coordinator for the UN-affiliated NGO, International Medical Crisis Response Alliance¹. One dilemma we've encountered lately is responding to foreign colleagues who ask: “What is going on in your country?  Millions refuse vaccination for political reasons? Trump incited a coup attempt and his followers are blaming democrats? Are Americans insane?” 

 

One of our practice areas is international psychology², so I've got credentials to respond to the sanity question: Why do over 35% of voters and 60% of Republicans vigorously continue to support the policies of the most inept and dangerous presidential regime in American history³?

 

Think of it this way; today's average Tiktokking, Facebooking, Twittering American, with little time for extended analytic thought, is a prime candidate for Pavlovian conditioning; and comprehensive conditioning can succeed beyond Pavlov’s wildest dreams.  For over 40 years, electronic media has cultivated the 8-second attention span, the vid-byte, the knee-jerk response⁴. The next step, socio-political indoctrination, was easy.

 

In the flush Reagan-Bush years, republicans learned the value of wrapping themselves in endless patriotic imagery, (flags, yellow ribbons, weeping eagles etc.), praising the military and highly weaponized law enforcement, damning gun control, striking aggressive poses against foreigners, and circumscribing easy enemies (e.g. "Liberals"). The political target of this was an agitated electorate immersed in bombastic emotional patriotism and kneejerk xenophobia. Millions of true believers, hungry for a unified American tribal identity, loved it.

 

Thereafter, the Right has ferociously maintained one of the most convincing e-propaganda campaigns in history, and there has been little to counter it. Since 2003, (when my parents mapped me onto their Republican email forums), I’ve been receiving mails with titles like: “Antifa Celebrates after Cop Is Killed”⁵ headlining a campaign focused on a conservative demographic with little tolerance for the vagaries of cautious objectivity. With the 2009 debut of online entities like the Tea Party daily email barrages were pumped out with increased frequency and vehemence riddled with subtle misrepresentations, blatant lies, false quotes from noted celebrities, photo-shopped images, and an us/them lexicon worthy of Goebbels⁶.

 

Today, Trump-aligned email-based news platforms like The Epoch Times, Blabber Buzz Alerts, the Daily Signal, the Conservative Newsroom and myriad others transmit daily inflammatory mailings like “Make America Socialist: Ilhan Omar Legislation” abetted by talk radio, Fox news, Twitter posts, Facebook memes, and Instagram images⁷. Demagogues-in-the-making like Matt Gaetz spout provocations and inaccuracies⁸. Trump himself continues to claim (with the vigorous support of 66% of republicans) he is the “real president”, blurting unrestrained belligerence while millions cheer themselves hoarse⁹. In a development chillingly reminiscent of Horst Wessel, the dead rioter Ashli Babbitt is now being reconstructed as a martyr to the Cause¹⁰.

 

And just goes on, metastasizing into the national psyche until events like the attack on the Capitol become nightmare reality. The relentless indoctrination is so immersive that for millions, reality has become terra incognita. Americans like my parents are adrift in a sea of cherished misinformation where established media is dismissed as either “fake news” or “deep state”, leaving no choice but a delusional alternate reality where nothing outside the Trumpist universe is factual. As noted by our Israeli and German colleagues, the parallels to Fascism are inescapable¹¹.

 

Worse, following their voting base, major Republicans have lately traded responsible statesmanship for agenda loyalty¹².  When elected representatives actively bow to the electronic media-fed delusions of their electorate, the problem is serious.

 

Opposition to this onslaught of groupthink has been largely ineffective. Those not exposed to the daily barrage of email and social media propaganda fail to realize its penetrance and effectiveness. Instead of cleverly strategic responses to widespread misinformation, we often get a lukewarm series of cautious, vetted arguments which, alas, no longer resound with a large segment of the American public.

 

An unprecedented threat requires a novel and unprecedented approach.  Why might that not be a response in kind? There is no reason why accurate science, the rule of law and democratic fundamentals cannot be conveyed through an alternate set of strategically-targeted social media platforms, also wrapped in American flags, respect for the military and patriotic symbolism, but focused instead on exposing blatant misinformation and delusions.

 

Those who understand the danger must focus on reaching their fellow citizens languishing in a propaganda swamp. This is a dangerous new phase for the world’s longest-surviving republic and our awakening to it must involve skill, intelligence and strategic daring.