JA WestenbergFeb 27
Love how "elitist" now just means "has the audacity to know things." Went to university? Elitist. Read a book? Elitist. Can point to a country on a map? Elitist. Meanwhile a man with a gold toilet is a man of the people.
Show threadDP0Feb 27

@Daojoan It is just a new approach to an old dilemma: Authoritarianism is based on fraud and fraud requires intellectual superiority; i.e., the fraudster needs to know something the deceived doesn't. Hence, knowledgeable people are a threat for autocrats.

In the past, access to knowledge was limited, most people couldn't even read. But things have changed and education and knowledge are more accessible. So they've to "pollute" the knowledge through fake information and to shame knowledge.

Show threadMartin RundkvistFeb 27

@DP0 @Daojoan
Sorry, no. Poor people in Sweden have had excellent access to information and education for 80 years. The fascist voters have turned away willingly from that and prefer online propaganda channels.

#fascism #democracy

Show threadDP0

@mrundkvist @Daojoan
That is actually what I said: People turning away from information is exactly what I meant when speaking of the new means. Everyone has access to information and knowledge, so people need to be instigated to turn away from it. And this done by providing false information and creating doubt regarding the accessible real and factual information.

In the past, poverty and oppression were easy means to keep people uneducated. Today, more proactive ways are required.

Feb 27 at 10:42amMastodon for Android
Show threadMartin RundkvistFeb 27
@DP0 @Daojoan
Why then didn't you and I turn away? We have the same access.
Show threadDP0Feb 27

@mrundkvist @Daojoan What makes you think we couldn't turn away, too? There are many reasons, why we haven't yet: maybe we were not the targeted audience (i.e., too left to be flipped), we were not sufficiently exposed (no Facebook, no Shitter, etc), we were too proficient in the field on which the disinformation was spread, etc.

Disinformation works like a virus: if you don't have the receptors, you're immune. But make no mistake: there may be a virus out there matching your receptors.

Show threadMartin RundkvistFeb 27
@DP0 @Daojoan
So you mean that education doesn't help. This suggests to me that it's a pretty bad idea to let me vote.
Show threadVon XylofonFeb 27
@mrundkvist @DP0 @Daojoan It's the worst idea, except for all the others that have been tried.
Show threadDP0Feb 27

@mrundkvist @Daojoan No, I am just saying that everyone can be fooled. Believing that this is not the case is dangerous.

Of course, education helps building up resilience against disinformation. And, indeed, some people are more resilient to disinformation than others. However, everyone has their soft spot, a weakness or just an area where they're not so proficient. And one should bei aware of that as this also is an expression of a free, open, and resilient mind: know your weakness.