another observation i had which i havent seen mentioned, is just how audience captured many figures on the right are. trump literally was fed the insane pet-eating story 24 hours before the debate, and just blurted it out on the national debate stage. the same thing is happening with elon musk and a number of other public figures on the right eg. the russell brands and jordan peterson types. there's this bi-directional flow of misinformation that so baked into the right wing eco system in the US, it's hard to know where the lies actually begin and end. I don't even think they know anymore either, nor does it matter. when you're governed by lies, your sense of judgement and grip on reality becomes tenuous at best. it's crazy to watch the phenomenon unfold in real time like it did yesterday

    Gazza M but they like that. They like this idea of free speech which is actually just the ability to spread misinformation that fits this narrative. When told by the press that the cat story was fake, JD Vance acknowledged this but still encouraged his followers to share cat memes. Elon earlier this week reminded X users to not spread misinformation, and then promptly distributed cat stories. It’s malicious, very nazi like, understanding the power of media. Hence the desire to discredit the mainstream, burn books, curtail education, etc.

        Mirth Yeah. Suspect also that the era of people all watching telly in their suburban homes waiting for the pollsters to ring and then giving up an accurate picture of their views is long gone.

          I tuned in for about 2 minutes when they were talking about abortion. I heard Trump essentially assert that many Democrats are in favour of abortion "even after birth". I turned off again.

          And yet this statement didn't even make it into the list of weird shit he is saying. What a stuffed up state of affairs US politics is in.

            Asterix also known as homicide. I don’t know if people just lost a basic capacity to think over time

              I was just reading that apparently the moderators did pick him up on this. So he complained the debate was 3 vs 1.

              Yep. That's the conservative media's excuse. Apparently it was wrong of the moderators to fact check him in real time. The claim is Harris was not fact checked as aggressively, and the moderators were in cahoots with her all along

              i saw some summary where he made 33 factually inaccurate statements that didn't get checked and she made one. they should be happy that they couldn't possibly fact check all his lies.

              yeah the moderators were totally unfair to agent orange.

              hes an absolutely classless piece of shit who is putting people in unnecessary danger every single day

                Claudius but they like that. They like this idea of free speech which is actually just the ability to spread misinformation that fits this narrative.

                Wasn't it Edi Amin who said something along the lines of I can guarantee freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech?

                  mdgoonah41 theyre tripling down on this as well.

                  if it interests anyone, here's some decent journalism around the actual challenges Springfield faces on this issue, sans the racist caterwauling

                    • 2016 Trump sounds incredibly articulate compared to this version.

                    Fucking hell, people need to chill the fuck out in America. I get Trump isn't liked but this isn't the way.

                    Just exercising his 2A rights near a golf course.

                      Coombs exactly, perhaps allowing individuals easy access to firearms increases the risk of individuals with a grievance or potentially unwell doing significant harm to others through such access.

                        your honor, i was just strolling in the woods tracking a black bear with my ar-15 and go pro, exercising my 2nd amendment rights and open carrying in the state of florida which i have the right to do as long as i'm going hunting or fishing etc. and someone started shooting at me so i ran away.

                        "Our borders must be closed and the terrorists, criminals and mentally insane immediately removed from American cities and towns, deported back to their countries of origin" - so says the guy who's just been shot at by two white, American citizens.

                          Have not checked but I assume this guy's the latest one?