I say this because I consider many ideas of conservative Republicans are indeed irrational and crazy. It is not necessarily irrational to make decisions based on misinformation. Every decision we make is based on what information we have, and we do not always have the best information possible. We can’t always get the best information, and we have to make choices based on the data we have.
However, any choice we make based on false data is not going to have the best result. And if we make a decision based on false data when the real data is readily available is indeed irrational.
Well-known extreme right-wing sources such as QANON and Alex Jones are not the only ones who spread misinformation. Online publication such as Natural News contribute to outright lies and distortion of truth that gets spread over the internet. On August 10 Natural News stated that the governor of Tennessee has issued an executive order authorizing the National Guard to carry out medical kidnappings. According to them, the guard could break into people’s homes, kidnap them at gunpoint, and take them to covid internment camps.
If this were true, it would be shocking, but of course it was not true. What the executive order actually did was authorize the guard to help in the covid emergency by such things as diagnostic testing, nursing, and ambulance services.
The story did not originate with Natural News. It had been posted on Instagram, but it was a satire. Natural News, not realizing that it was tongue in cheek, took the satire as fact and ran with it.
Here are links to two more articles from that source of “news.”
Biden wants to criminalize crossing state lines while “unvaccinated” - NaturalNews.com
Feds declare anti-vaxxers are “terrorists,” unveil 90-day plan to wage false flag violence and blame it on “anti-lockdown extremists” - NaturalNews.com
The social media also spreads false stories. One such story stated that airline flights were backed up across the country because pilots and crew were walking off flights and refusing to take mandated vaccines. In fact, the flight delays were caused by weather.
Another story stated that the Canadian province of Alberta had lifted Covid-19 restrictions because health officials had provided no evidence that the virus exists. In fact, the restrictions were lifted because predetermined goals had been met.
If you challenge anyone who believes wild tales like these, they will say you have been fooled by the mainstream media. But I ask you: What is more believable: sources like the New York Times or sources like Natural News?
