by Norman Halls, contributor
As we are learning, over the past 3 years interference into our political campaigns has been deliberately published hoaxes, propaganda and disinformation that was suppose to be real news. Fake news is now being promoted in Germany and France. It’s unfortunate we, the voters, did not pick-up on the fictitious articles. The fake news maintained a presence throughout the years during the presidential campaign.
“It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters. The Times called him unprepared and unsuited for the job he was seeking, and said his election would be a ‘catastrophe.’ Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck. Like millions of other Americans, we clung to a slim hope that the new president would turn out to be all noise and bluster, or that the people around him in the White House would act as a check on his worst instincts, or that he would be sobered and transformed by the awesome responsibilities of office.” From The Times Editorial Board April 2, 2017.
“The Senate Intelligence Committee heard Thursday, March 30, 2017 from a counter-terrorism expert who described a sophisticated Russian propaganda machine that specifically sought to bolster and influence President Donald Trump. Clint Watts, who testified on a panel of experts as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the US election, has a military and intelligence background, largely in counter-terrorism. Watts came to studying Russian cyber meddling almost by chance, when he noticed a pattern of social media trolls attacking him online for a 2014 article he wrote about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He and two social media analyst colleagues began studying the patterns and suspicious pro-Russia WhiteHouse.gov petitions, leading them to study the Russian social media propaganda machine.” Wrote Tal Kopan, Washington CNN
Trump does not have an original scheme in any of his speeches. Although he praised his friend Putin on doing a great job, Putin has outsmarted the U.S.. Trump said: “I’m saying that I’d possibly have a good relationship. He’s been very nice to me.” Needless to say, Putin has been playing Trump like a fiddle. Putin and his staff have been feeding Trump information that Trump reiterates as if really happen. “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability.” according to Voice of America News. “But the dossier escalated a narrative about Trump and Russia that has been building for months, adding a new dimension to a story that had centered on Russia’s likely hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Russia furthermore endangers the Democrats that “Benghazi” was a much-mocked attack that never gained much traction.” reported Alex Shephard editor at The New Republic. Even Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Chairman of the Benghazi Committee fell for Russia’s fake news.
“The rising trend of fake news during 2016 was very different to largely state controlled analogue modes of 20th century propaganda. What we saw often here were small groups of people taking advantage of social media interaction and algorithms through creating hyperbolic articles around a major political event: the US Presidential election. Propaganda and Internet fake news do, however, hold similarities: both are methods of distorting the truth for emotional persuasion, seeking to drive action. Although this action appears to be political, the motivation in the 2016 US election was not necessarily. Many creators of it were moreover looking for a path to quick dollars by distributing content and gaining an audience that would view advertising.” according to James Carson Telegraph Media Group.
Randall Hill of Reuters, May 3, 2016 reported “What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald?”
Trump was poised to win the Indiana primary and secure the GOP nomination. But instead of easing up on his chief rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), he started talking about a bizarre National Enqurier story that suggested a link between Cruz’s father and John F. Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
“His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being, you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said during a phone call to Fox News. “Nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it. … What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the shooting?” This is fake news that was feed to Trump. Reuters picked up what Trump said.
It’s too bad that published hoaxes were not seized before November 2016. We might have a government we could understand.
