re: What is missing inside people who intentionally start/spread disinformation just for fun?

quote:

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Who gives a shite if someone wants to type 2+2=5? It's just words and 99% of people can figure stuff out for themselves.

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We all should. Why?

Back in the day, pre-internet, there were conspiracy theorists, nutjobs, pure nazis, pure communists, propagandists, and severely mentally impaired/paranoid people who would just blow your fricking mind if you sat down and conversed with them. Not blow your mind in a good way, either, rather "holy shite, this dude is way the frick out there" kind of blow your mind. These people were on the edges of society, often ignored and, correctly, chalked up as pure crackpots.

Now? We put megaphones in their faces and ask them to exclaim the craziest shite possible. Why? Because it brings in clicks and clicks bring in revenues. The crazier shite to come out of someone's mouth, the more clicks it generates. There are grifters all over this country, and world, who have caught on to this, which just compounds the problem.

The grifters understand how to best present conspiracies and disinformation. They understand they have to be just vague enough to leave room to be proven wrong. They ask unanswerable questions and draw tenuous connections between unrelated stories. They know they have to drive RAGE. And the more people they reach, it leads to more people who tune in, read, or click.

I think people underestimate just how awful a world without truth will be.