Mastodawn

Dave Rahardja Feb 12, 2025

I wish more people understand that repeating a conservative #meme to debunk it *only serves to spread the meme*.

Don’t repeat memetic #propaganda, even to criticize it. Certain phrases and memes are popular among bigots because they are effective at turning bigotry into seemingly fun wordplay. By repeating it (even with a big red slash across it) YOU ARE SPREADING THE HATEFUL MEME.

Treat viral bigoted memes like the radioactive waste that they are. Don’t repost them at all if you can. If you must, address them obliquely or abstractly, or hide them behind protective material to shield the casual reader from exposure.

Remember, MOST people browse their timelines without reading anything closely. If you repost a bigoted meme, they’ll view the meme but not your post, and you would have inadvertently spread the meme that much further along.

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David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)Feb 12, 2025

@drahardja There was a paper on combatting misinformation that was published a few months ago (I don’t have the link handy) that supported this. In particular, directly raising and contradicting a point didn’t make people change their minds, but posting well-sourced things (you know, not like the ‘a paper I read and don’t have the citation now’ thing I’m doing right now) that contradicted things did make people (slowly) change their minds. Don’t post their stupid thing and rebut it, post something that directly contradicts it. For example, ignore Musk’s claims about US Aid and just post about how it improves national security for a very low cost and helps stabilise domestic food prices at the same time. Completely ignore their misinformation and post facts and evidence that happen to directly contradict their narrative.

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PuddleOfKittens

@david_chisnall @drahardja IMO the problem with unsourced rebuttals is that even if you trust the poster, if you repeat it to someone else you'd have to convince *them* to trust the poster, but that's too hard so people don't bother reposting. No reposting means no virality means no impact.