Paul Pelosi’s tweet to Elon Musk shows that we are in a post-truth world

If we weren’t living in a post-truth world before last week, we certainly are now. The violent attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, combined with the near-instant invention of a conspiracy theory (promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter), leaves no doubt that the future of alternate reality is now our actual reality.

By now, you probably know the story. In response to a tweet from Hillary Clinton, Musk said the editorial “There is little chance there may be more to this story.” These words were tweeted with a link to a shallow port claiming that “Paul Pelosi was drunk again, and in a feud with a male prostitute early Friday morning.”

Musk has since deleted his tweet, but has not issued a correction or apology. Similarly, Donald Trump Jr. developed this narrative, Using social media memes, in a sleazy way.

When Many prominent right-wingers (With a massive audience on Twitter) These stories deliver, and the false narratives are given more credibility and oxygen. And when the bogus version is the first version you hear — and it repeats enough times — it tends to stick. Ethan Mollick, author and associate professor at Wharton, points out search points “If you see something repeated enough times, it sounds more valid. Multiple studies show that it works on 85 percent of people. Worse, it still happens even if the information isn’t reasonable and even if you know better.”

In this case, the alternative narrative had a kernel of plausibility: Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty to DUI In August, San Francisco has long been one of the most gay-friendly cities in America. Add to this growing feeling – from Ruthergate To Hunter Biden’s laptop – that the mainstream media can’t always be trusted to tell us the truth.

Pelosi’s alternative novel also helped Something the 911 dispatcher said: “he is [Pelosi] He says… he doesn’t know who the male is but his name is David and he is a friend. He looked a little confused.”

a Friend?

Paul Pelosi was under duress when he made this call from his bathroom in the middle of the night. He was understandably confused, the operator said. Pelosi was also, at times, speaking in code. Maybe the operator got it wrong? However, this information provided enough fodder for an alternate reality to emerge.

Likewise, an act of violence aimed at the Speaker of the House (the attacker reportedly shouted, “”Where is Nancy?? ”), who was already He was targeted by MAGA mob on January 6thwas armed for use against Pelosi.

The only problem? This alternate reality is inconsistent with What do the police say? And the What did the attacker tell the police about his motives?Planning to break Nancy Pelosi’s knee?).

What if right after Pearl Harbor, half of the country decided that didn’t really happen – and the people who said they saw it as “crisis actors”?

Now, I’m not naive. The American public has been lied to in the past. Sometimes the police and the media simply get it wrong.

But what the truth now asks us to believe, in essence, is that we have no way of verifying or confirming it anything It’s real. It is possible that Donald Trump is still the president. Maybe Tom Brady and the Buccaneers really 8-0? I probably don’t really write this. Maybe we all live in the matrix?

We are now in a situation where either (a) you believe the police and the media are conspiring to lie to you to help elect Democrats, or (b) you believe that the owner of Twitter and the son of the former president is wrongly blaming the victim of a violent attack and lying to you as a favor to Republicans.

In other words, there are two American states.

in one copy, Children use litter boxes to get rid of their needs in schoolsthe 2020 elections were stolen (by the Venezuelans?), COVID-19 vaccines are mark of the beastAnd the JFK Jr. is still aliveTrump had the largest inauguration rally in history, on January 6th it was just…Ordinary tourist visit“And Paul Pelosi is attacked by a man using a hammer after a gay/lover quarrel. These, shall we say,”Alternative facts. “

The other America where I live.

Which is strange to me. Throughout my political life, I have denounced postmodernism, relativism, and the feeling that there are no absolutes, and people talk about “Mine Truth.” I never thought the post-truth world would arrive so quickly, nor did I think it would Republicans who were paying.

Regardless, the consequences can be tragic. If this trend continues, it will become unacceptable. What if right after Pearl Harbor, half of the country decided that didn’t really happen – and the people who said they saw it as “crisis actors”? What if after the 9/11 attacks, half of the nation decided it was an inside job and George W. Bush was to blame?

How can a nation have a common national meaning, purpose, and story when we can’t even agree on what constitutes reality?



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