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Republicans were, though, more likely to believe Russian disinformation claims than their Democratic counterparts, with 57.6% falling for at least one Russian disinformation claim, compared with just 17.9% of Democrats and 29.5% of people who didn't identify with one particular party.

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[-] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 94 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The headline should read "Republicans believe misinformation to an alarming degree"?

Sure the numbers aren't great for independents and Democrats... but it isn't >50% bad, which clearly points to Republican ideology as brain worms.

[-] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago

Exactly. That's why I highlighted that portion.

~60% vs ~20% is a staggering difference. This really shows the much bigger problem of how conservatives gain power. They use the large masses of unintelligent, manipulative gullible people to get votes, and enrich themselves.

This is not freedom. This is not democracy. It's psychopaths, controlling and keeping people stupid, so they can stay in power and wealth.

Our system is so fucked.

[-] entwine413@lemm.ee 9 points 1 month ago

The funny thing is the electoral college was created to protect us from this, but it's kinda the whole reason we're where we are.

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Uh, no. The electoral college was created because the slavers wanted representation for their slaves without giving them the vote.

Edit: Source

[-] entwine413@lemm.ee 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

No. The electoral college was created because the founders didn't trust the uneducated general population to not elect a tyrant, so the EC was supposed to be made up of educated people who wouldn't be stupid enough to vote against the best interests of the people.

It also had a bit to do with how long it took to count votes at the time.

Are you sure you're not thinking about the 3/5 compromise?

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

See the source I posted in the edit.

[-] too_high_for_this@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

That article says it was created to prevent a populist president, and that it should've been scrapped after the 12th amendment but the 3/5 compromise incentivized the South to keep it.

The Federalist Papers talk about this a bit and slavery was not a concern.

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[-] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Anyone who has ever talked to a Republican knows this. Whenever you point out half the bullshit coming out of their mouth has been debunked, they just spout some bullshit about the MSM and source being "biased". Friend, reality is biased against your 🤡 ass.

[-] Tortl@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

Literally every time. I'm so sick of giving people (conservatives) the benefit of the doubt when they talk about something I haven't heard of and realize that yes, in fact, this current issue they're crying about is also made up or wildly misinterpreted just like every other issue they've ever pretended to care about.

[-] Uli@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

Yes, this level of control over how the populace thinks is a step along the path toward turning human beings into livestock. I'm not fond of it.

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[-] RedditIsDeddit@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Republicans live in a world of lies in their Fox News + Church bubble.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I do think that is giving liberals and the left too much credit.

A lot of the infighting from among the left during the past election felt pretty artificial, to be perfectly honest, and most of the "Genocide Joe/Holocaust Harris" types seemed to just evaporate after the election ended. Maybe just because there was nothing really left to say after all was said and done, but I just find it hard to believe much of that discourse was in good faith. I'm surprised to read a number as low as 18%, but almost 1 in 5 still isn't nothing.

[-] qprimed@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago

the absolute rage and betrayal felt by a non-trivial number of diverse, dem leaning coalition members was not artificial in the least and needed no outside aggitation to make it one of thousands of dem self-inflicted papercuts that bled the soul out of dem support.

my family has consistently voted against the fascist monster, but the dems have helped hand the country over to them for decades. the republicans made the monster, but the dems failed to bar the door and seal the windows. neo-liberalism (even by the most gentle definition) is imploding globally in a spectacular way.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The very real push to vote for Trump or not vote at all due to Biden's botched (to say the least) handling of Palestine was not in good faith, though, and I saw that type of rhetoric everywhere.

[-] qprimed@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

yeah, agreed on that - gotta consider those as actual bad actors. "on the ground, irl" I didnt see much of it though. not saying in super close races it made no difference, but around here, even the ones disgusted by abhorrent dem behaviour, held their noses and pulled straight dem ticket.

what I do think had a meaningful negative impact was the lack of enthusiasm for the harris campaign as the election neared - not enough outreach and "bring 5 friends" moments. the early relief of "thank fuck its not biden!" was systematically snuffed out.

just a ton of misreading and lost opportunity by Democratic functionaries and we are left with an even more broken world. I am hoping beyond hope that there is a remaking of the Democratic party and a concerted effort, at least on the state level, for an end to first past the post.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

You and me both. I am still upset by the fact that my state had RCV on the ballot several years ago but voted it down because the majority-Democrat politicians in office here were afraid to endorse anything that might erode the party's dominance.

God forbid a left-leaning state run the risk of electing actual leftists.

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

the dems were always center right, thier plan was to always grift from the shadows of what the gop is doing blatantly, thats why they have the same donors.

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[-] uienia@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

*disinformation.

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[-] Gandhi70@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago

Not only Americans. This is a global problem...

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

But it's amplified in countries with undemocratic election systems, like first past the post. You just need a plurality of morons to fuck it up for everybody else.

[-] Gandhi70@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

True. But even in a state with a good election system the right wing nuts are on the rise.

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Yes. That's why i said amplified.

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The US rarely exports its bright ideas at the rate of the shittiest ones...

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[-] shittydwarf@lemmy.dbzer0.com 36 points 1 month ago

Enough to elect a Russian agent, twice

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Americans Also Believe American Disinformation ‘To Alarming Degree'

Actually Americans tend to easily believe a lot of nonsense .... and have a harder time grasping reality.

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago

While true, American stupidity is not unique. Every nation has shown that they have tons of idiots willing to believe whatever the Internet tells them

[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Yep. Poilievre, Brexit, Meloni, AFD, just off the top of my head.

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 month ago

it's like our education & welfare systems have been intentionally defunded for decades to keep us in line with our ruling classes' desires and make us buy into silly groupthink ideas like american exceptionalism; but, of course, that's the not true since that can only happen in oligarchies like russia or china and, also, could never happen to us, the greatest country that the world has ever seen. /s

[-] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 3 points 1 month ago

And are history as a nation is very white-washed, and even still it makes places like Florida have hurt feelings enough that they create laws to remove even the tiny bits of truth we actually still taught. You can't talk about black history, that is reverse discrimination! You can't talk about treating everyone fairly, that's the work of Satan's DEI program!

Using the rules/laws to further their racist/fascist views by talking in code and carefully crafted arguments that sounds "fair" to people with no critical thinking.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

We can’t teach our kids media literacy or they’ll stop believing our propaganda

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's not so much that education has suddenly been defunded (for white people maybe). It's more that "education" has always been about privilege and indoctrination. It has always been directly opposed to "critical thinking".

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

But in the US the lunatics run the asylum.

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago

“When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat.”

― George Carlin

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

So much of what is being flagged as "Russian disinformation" is being parroted (if not straight up propagated) by western news media, western social media, and western talking heads.

At what point does a Mercer-funded, MAGA-coded, Texas based, English language broadcast constitute American Media? Is this a "just one drop" rule, where any positive (or insufficiently negative) news item or talking point or image marks the entire operation as "Russian"? Are guys like Tim Pool and Alex Jones still Americans? Or are they Russian? Is Tucker Carlson, the son of a CIA director and a midwestern cattle-country heiress, a Presidential speechwriter and US cable news pundit and avowed Cold Warrior, a Russian? Is CNN Russian? Is Exxon Russian?

[-] borf@lemmynsfw.com 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

If I sing the Russian national anthem it doesn't become an American anthem because an American is repeating the words

Edit: you cant muddy the water fuckface. Russian propaganda is still Russian propaganda idiot

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[-] 60d@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 month ago

If any population needs help with media literacy, it's Murcans and Canucks.

So many people are repeating Putin's narratives that even anti-cons are believing them.

[-] TrojanRoomCoffeePot@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

*read and analyze content critically

[-] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

An alarming amount of Americans still believe civil war disinformation and propaganda. They ain't got the critical thinking skills to deal with 250 year old shit, they sure as hell can't think past new shit

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[-] RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Everyone is vulnerable to manipulation. If you doubt this start a discussion about the Yemeni civil war and count the people blaming Saudi Arabia for starting the civil war that factually begins with the Houthi Militias attacking the capital. Those folks bought Iranian propaganda hopk line and sinker

[-] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Surprised Pikachu face

[-] chilldrivenspade@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Yes, they really, really do.

[-] Objection@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

Their methodology involves asking people a bunch of questions and then if they don’t get 100% correct they’re counted as believing misinformation. Putting aside the unreliability of online polls, that’s a pretty misleading way of framing it, if you ask me.

If you asked people 10 questions about just about anything, you’d probably find a substantial number of people who don’t get every one right. In fact, they did do this under the heading, “Disinformation Nation: Americans Widely Believe False Claims on a Range of Topics.” That’s probably why they found that, “Respondents identifying as Democrats were about as likely (82 percent) to believe at least one of the 10 false claims as those identifying as Republicans (81 percent).”

Many of the people responding to the poll may not have ever encountered the claims they were asked about. If you are first encountering a claim in that context, you pretty much just have to guess whether you think it’s true based on vibes. And you can easily set up misleading vibes, like, “Conservative initiative Project 2025 proposes cutting or eliminating Social Security” which is false because it’s not explicitly stated, but it does explicitly state a whole bunch of other horrible shit, so like, if you get got by that one it doesn’t really show that you believe in an inaccurate picture of the world, just that you got tripped up by details. But that claim dings you for “believing misinformation” just as much as " COVID-19 vaccines killed 15 million people worldwide."

So like it doesn’t really tell us very much about how far reaching disinformation really is, the results are more of a reflection of their methodology.

[Reposted from the last time this study was posted]

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this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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