We live in an age of gossip, lies and fake news made misinformation by the allure of social media. Politicians and social media influencers: Lying through their teeth for profit? Hands up if you had heard of Laura Loomer prior to her hooking up with Donald Trump in his campaign for re-election to the US presidency? Perhaps, you consume conspiracy theories for breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea? Will all those manufactured untruths rot your teeth? Maybe, dentists have a bigger role to play in our political and societal lives than previously imagined.
Conspiracy Claims Where Truth Is As Rare As Hen’s Teeth
Laura Loomer has been peddling 9/11 conspiracy theories of deep state involvement in this iconic American tragedy for the longest time. That Trump has invited her aboard his campaign bus is indicative of the unhinged nature of his quest for re-instatement in the White House.
“The White House rebuked former President Donald Trump on Thursday for his association with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who has been traveling this week with the Republican presidential candidate. Loomer says she does not work for Trump. However, she has mentioned speaking to him about political matters and frequents his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Her incendiary posts on X, where she has 1.2 million followers, at times seem to provide grist for Trump’s next lines of attack.”
Since Loomer’s advent on the Trump bandwagon, the former President has claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio have been eating pets taken from the homes of residents. The provenance of this fake news is a US Nazi website and is more misinformation that originates from the alternate right wing universe where lies proliferate and the truth is as rare as hen’s teeth. JD Vance the Trump candidate for Vice President continued to promote this baseless racist crap. Only in America can this BS stuff with no evidence be promulgated due to first amendment speech freedoms. The freedom to tell lies is a right, according to the American Constitution.
Trump A Politician Mining The Social Media Swamp For Inspiration
Donald Trump has 3 gears, which are whining, bragging and lying. Some say this old, white guy is getting too long in the tooth. Trump is up against the younger, less white Kamala Harris. Oh and she has a vagina, I am reliably informed. Why does this matter? America has never had a female president over its 248 year history. The USA, in many southern states, is rescinding the rights of women over their own bodies. Reproductive rights are, perhaps, the most important rights a woman bears in terms of defining the difference between men and women. Denying a woman the right to have an abortion is tantamount to controlling their life like men used to for millennia. Trump and the Republican party are attempting to turn back time and take away the rights of women in the 21C. Many in the media, here and elsewhere, like to portray Donald Trump as a celebrity buffoon good for headlines – but what he represents is actually much more serious.
Social Media Influencer = Outrage Merchant
More ordinary folk pay more attention to stuff they derive from their social media platforms than mainstream news these days. Thus, social media influencers now sway opinions to a much greater degree than ever before. What drives influence on X, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok is outrageous content. Enraging viewers engages viewers. This is why America is as polarised as it has ever been. The lunatic fringe appeals to middle America via social media in the 21C. Politicians and social media influencers: Lying through their teeth for profit? These influential voices make money from putting out batshit crazy stuff online. Trump has embraced this trend in a bid to get enough votes to get him over the line. He parrots their whining complaints and gives voice to their fringe beliefs. Trump brags that he will make it all better and only he can do this. Of course, this is just another lie, as Trump will say anything to garner attention. Outrage merchants derive their worth from telling big fat lies. Politicians and social media influencers: Lying through their teeth for profit?
“These threats were an entirely predictable byproduct of the forced outrage that MAGA movement influencers work overtime to generate. Conservative influencers have consistently found success in peddling moral panics to their audiences.”
Winning By The Skin Of Your Teeth
The 2024 US Presidential election is going to be a close run thing according to the pundits. It may be a case of winning by the skin of your teeth. The swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina are recognised as likely to decide the 24’ race by a few thousand votes in each. Will a loud mouthed, fading celebrity TV star return to the White House or will this usually conservative nation embrace its future and current demographic reality? America is a multiracial democracy beleaguered for too long by old white men at the top of the tree. President Joe Biden has done some great things and is a good Democratic politician but he defines being too long in the tooth. Donald Trump now wears that too old mantle. Kamala Harris represents a reinvigoration of the political sphere. This election will be decided according to gender lines in large part, I suspect.
Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris, which will bring some of her 284 million Instagram followers to bear on the race. The youth vote is going to be way up, with lots more young Americans registering to vote for the first time. You have to remember that voting in the US is not compulsory, as is the case in Australia. This means that many voters must be inspired or provoked in to bothering to vote. This is why most campaign ads are negative. Trump would provoke many progressive voters to get out and vote to ensure that he is not returned to office. Trump’s dalliance with Laura Loomer and other far right crazies might be a case of biting off more than he can chew. This stuff is always a two edged sword and can cut both ways.
Hearing Trump’s Lies are Like Pulling Teeth
Listening to politicians can be akin to pulling teeth. In that, their lies and misinformation are painful for people who live in the real world to listen to. If Trump really has 40% support in America I worry about having these folk as allies. Xenophobes bang on about the dangers of China and its totalitarian regime but a Trump dictatorship will be equally awful for the rest of the world.
Do we really want all those nuclear missiles in the hands of this unhinged, racist, very weird, old white guy who constantly lies through his teeth?
The Russians Funding Trump’s Moral Panic Influencers
The US is still being manipulated by shady Putin run Russian black hats in the digital space. Democracy is much more vulnerable to this stuff than authoritarian run regimes. It is enough to set your teeth on edge!
“They have millions of followers online. They have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was president. And they worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a Russian influence operation, U.S. prosecutors say. An indictment filed Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition” to Russian interests, like its war in Ukraine.”
A Kick In The Teeth For Truth
Dentists drilling for corruption to root out the moral decay of our times have their electric drills ready and may soon have lasers. We need some clear lines in our political and social spheres. Imagine if your dentist had a similarly laisse fair attitude to scientific facts. Perhaps, your dentist believed in a conspiracy theory about fillings containing surveillance devices monitoring people and, therefore, stopped doing fillings. Or maybe, decided bleach was a good disinfectant to use for mouthwash gargle in their clinics.
It is hard to understand how a population of people could elect a leader who lies and has no respect for facts or the truth. If the truth is good enough for dentistry it should be good enough for our political leaders too.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
©HouseTherapy
