May I suggest that this is done intentionally? Elon knows what the story actually was, but the facts don't suit his purpose. As you know, it's a dominant discourse on the right that "the mainstream media" are all liberal (or LIB-rull, as Rush Limbaugh used to say), and thus, they cannot be trusted. Only the Dear Leader can be trusted-- in this case Elon, but also provocateurs like Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump. So, given the tendency of Elon's supporters towards confirmation bias, he likes to repurpose any content he finds online, as long as it reinforces the dominant discourse that facts are not facts, and you really can't believe what you see with your own eyes. And every time he says something that is utterly false, he is fairly sure that his "true believers" won't fact-check what he just told them; they'll just believe it, no matter how untethered from reality it might be. We've all seen the commentators on Fox News, as well as Trump himself, using this same tactic many times as well, ripping something from its context, and then generating outrage about it. As I said, this is an intentional strategy; the goal is to reinforce what his supporters already believe, while keeping them loyal-- because they know only HE tells them the truth, and the "liberal media" are filled with lies. (This story makes me sad, because it's yet another volley in the battle against critical thinking. It promotes "belief" over analysis. It's also a reminder that few folks can turn on the outrage machine more effectively than guys like Elon or Tucker or The Former Guy.)
Parker I was inspired to find in my email archive my response to a request to be on a program hosted on a Sinclair-owned TV station in DC
From 2020:
"Hi Lindsey --
Thank you for thinking of me for your program. I genuinely appreciate the fact that you read my column. During the almost 20 years I lived in DC, I was a big fan of Channel 7.
However -- and please, I intend no disrespect to you, AT ALL -- but I would rather stick needles in my own eyes than appear on any Sinclair-owned media outlets.
I always knew that someday I would have to draw the line somewhere -- and it seems that day has come, and ... this is the line."
Isn't there some outfit that shops around scripts for "lighthearted" news stories to local TV stations? I think the Daily Show did a bit about it, just playing a clip from one station after another, which were word-for-word the same. Needless to say, the point wasn't MIND CONTROL, because the people who write for the Daily Show aren't fucking morons.
I'm sure some conservatives will treat this as justified to counter the bogeyman of liberal media bias. When Kellyanne Conway first publicly uttered the phrase "alternative facts," it created an uproar because of how farcical it was. We're way past that now.
Oh yes, I remember this story. Trust Elon to get it absolutely backwards.
Every. Single. Time.
May I suggest that this is done intentionally? Elon knows what the story actually was, but the facts don't suit his purpose. As you know, it's a dominant discourse on the right that "the mainstream media" are all liberal (or LIB-rull, as Rush Limbaugh used to say), and thus, they cannot be trusted. Only the Dear Leader can be trusted-- in this case Elon, but also provocateurs like Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump. So, given the tendency of Elon's supporters towards confirmation bias, he likes to repurpose any content he finds online, as long as it reinforces the dominant discourse that facts are not facts, and you really can't believe what you see with your own eyes. And every time he says something that is utterly false, he is fairly sure that his "true believers" won't fact-check what he just told them; they'll just believe it, no matter how untethered from reality it might be. We've all seen the commentators on Fox News, as well as Trump himself, using this same tactic many times as well, ripping something from its context, and then generating outrage about it. As I said, this is an intentional strategy; the goal is to reinforce what his supporters already believe, while keeping them loyal-- because they know only HE tells them the truth, and the "liberal media" are filled with lies. (This story makes me sad, because it's yet another volley in the battle against critical thinking. It promotes "belief" over analysis. It's also a reminder that few folks can turn on the outrage machine more effectively than guys like Elon or Tucker or The Former Guy.)
Oh yeah, I think it's likely that he knows what he's doing.
lEon skuM is a frickin' idiot.
Parker I was inspired to find in my email archive my response to a request to be on a program hosted on a Sinclair-owned TV station in DC
From 2020:
"Hi Lindsey --
Thank you for thinking of me for your program. I genuinely appreciate the fact that you read my column. During the almost 20 years I lived in DC, I was a big fan of Channel 7.
However -- and please, I intend no disrespect to you, AT ALL -- but I would rather stick needles in my own eyes than appear on any Sinclair-owned media outlets.
I always knew that someday I would have to draw the line somewhere -- and it seems that day has come, and ... this is the line."
Why not both? But in his case, it's mostly malice
Isn't there some outfit that shops around scripts for "lighthearted" news stories to local TV stations? I think the Daily Show did a bit about it, just playing a clip from one station after another, which were word-for-word the same. Needless to say, the point wasn't MIND CONTROL, because the people who write for the Daily Show aren't fucking morons.
I'm sure some conservatives will treat this as justified to counter the bogeyman of liberal media bias. When Kellyanne Conway first publicly uttered the phrase "alternative facts," it created an uproar because of how farcical it was. We're way past that now.