"Every component of my life was attacked:" How wind farm misinformation tore community apart

Jonny Thomson on Instagram: "The dead cat strategy is a kind of misdirection where somebody will say something so ridiculous, or do something so outlandish, that it takes your attention away from where they don’t want you to look. The idea is that, as you are talking, somebody comes into the room and throws a dead cat on the table, and suddenly no one is talking about anything else. For example, let’s say that the Prime Minister or president is coming under lots of criticism for a failed policy decision, and so they decide to announce, in that moment, a controversial foreign policy: they’re going to invade a country, they’re going to ban certain nationalities from coming in. In his 1989 work, Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky argued that public attention can only be held and directed for so long, so creating an unmissable spectacle occupies the spotlight while lots of other things can happen off stage. In other words, if people are too busy debating the outrageous or the ridiculous, they won’t spend their time looking at the politically important stuff. The problem is that the dead cat strategy is really hard to beat, because both the masses and the media love a good headline, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. Don’t be fooled by misdirection. Don’t look at the dead cat. Look where you are told not to."

43K likes, 560 comments - philosophyminis on October 11, 2025: "The dead cat strategy is a kind of misdirection where somebody will say something so ridiculous, or do something so outlandish, that it takes your attention away from where they don’t want you to look. The idea is that, as you are talking, somebody comes into the room and throws a dead cat on the table, and suddenly no one is talking about anything else. For example, let’s say that the Prime Minister or president is coming under lots of criticism for a failed policy decision, and so they decide to announce, in that moment, a controversial foreign policy: they’re going to invade a country, they’re going to ban certain nationalities from coming in. In his 1989 work, Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky argued that public attention can only be held and directed for so long, so creating an unmissable spectacle occupies the spotlight while lots of other things can happen off stage. In other words, if people are too busy debating the outrageous or the ridiculous, they won’t spend their time looking at the politically important stuff. The problem is that the dead cat strategy is really hard to beat, because both the masses and the media love a good headline, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. Don’t be fooled by misdirection. Don’t look at the dead cat. Look where you are told not to.".

Peter Gleick (@[email protected])

The massive measles outbreak and other growing health crises aren't just a result of the last six months of RFK Jr. and MAGAs. They're the result of decades of RFK Jr. and MAGAs sowing doubts about science, vaccines and medicine, and the role of government. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/u-s-measles-cases-reach-33-year-record-high-as-outbreaks-spread/

Misschien is rood vlees helemaal niet ongezond

Is het eten van rood vlees slecht voor je hart? Volgens een analyse van het bewijsmateriaal hangt het antwoord dat je van een wetenschapper krijgt waarschijnlijk af van wie zijn onderzoek heeft betaal...

NRC (@[email protected])

Christelijke stichting moet leugens over Rutgers’ Week van de Lentekriebels rectificeren https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/04/17/christelijke-stichting-moet-leugens-over-rutgers-week-van-de-lentekriebels-rectificeren-a4890269?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_term=20250417

Hoe kunnen docenten omgaan met misinformatie? | WilfredRubens.com over leren en ICT

Misinformatie kan ontwrichtend zijn voor de samenleving. David Nally, onderzoeker aan de Universiteit van Newcastle, stelt dat recente gebeurtenissen, zoals de bijeenkomst tussen Zelensky en de regering Trump, dit duidelijk illustreren. Hij onderzoekt hoe docenten met dit verschijnsel kunnen omgaan in het onderwijs. Uit de meest recente nationale toetsen voor burgerschapsonderwijs in Australië blijkt dat