General Patton and yet another fake historical quote

General Patton and yet another fake historical quote

TL;DR Summary Patton said “Liberal democrats are the lowest form of politicians”. No, very, very unlikely he said that. It appears to be a combination of a quote from Patton (the first sentence) and a modified quote from President Harry S Truman (second sentence) who made a similar comment 4 years after Patton died. This version of the poster (there are many versions) originates on a Facebook page titled “The Truth has no agenda” which is a conservative page with an…

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Social media viral nonsense and the story that never ends

Social media viral nonsense and the story that never ends

TL;DR Summary Photo purports to show the ejection of a USAF Thunderbird pilot in Smyrna, TN in early June 2016. This photo had, in moments, been shared nearly 8,000 times on FB. The photo is actually from a USAF crash in Mountain Home, ID in 2003 and the photo was taken by a USAF Airman. You can read about that actual incident here. No one questioned the truthfulness of the photo – yet it took just seconds to locate the…

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Users abandoning social media apps

Users abandoning social media apps

Year over year usage of social media platforms, through social media apps, is plummeting. Of all four major platforms, there has been a 9% decrease in the number of installed apps, year over year (some are up and some are down). People are spending less time using social media apps, a new study from marketing intelligence firm SimilarWeb found. Source: People are spending much less time on social media apps, said report. These changes might be because users are concerned…

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How Russia uses social media for propaganda (We do too!)

How Russia uses social media for propaganda (We do too!)

“Russia’s campaign to shape international opinion around its invasion of Ukraine has extended to recruiting and training a new cadre of online trolls that have been deployed to spread the Kremlin’s message on the comments section of top American websites.” Source: Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America – BuzzFeed News The United States government also does this. Remember back in the fall of 2013 when many of us had our health insurance policies canceled? These were the policies…

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Scott Adams’ The Persuasion Reading List

Scott Adams’ The Persuasion Reading List

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has published his “The Persuasion Reading List”. His thesis is that people may be easily persuaded – and that those with the skills to persuade others end up winning, regardless of whether they are correct. Source: Scott Adams Blog

Scott Adams (“Dilbert”) thinks Donald Trump is a master propagandist

Scott Adams (“Dilbert”) thinks Donald Trump is a master propagandist

I have no idea if Trump is a master propagandist but Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams thinks Trump is highly effective at using the methods of persuasion. Propaganda is a set of methods for persuading others to adopt an action (in this case, vote for Trump): SCOTT ADAMS: I’ve been studying persuasion for decades and when I saw Trump last summer displaying the tools of persuasion I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s not a crazy clown. Everything he’s doing, including his…

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#OccupyDemocrats is giving propaganda a bad name

#OccupyDemocrats is giving propaganda a bad name

TL;DR Summary Occupy Democrats makes an assertion that is easily proven wrong. The link between the bridge collapse and the real world events is a logical fallacy. This is the same format as last year’s false claim about an overpass collapse (Read that link – its unbelievable). What actually caused this collapse? A truck crashed in to the bridge, causing the collapse. “Officials say the collapse of the bridge was not a design or maintenance-related issue.” But, alluding to last year’s false poster…

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Another of Lincoln’s Celebrity Endorsement quotes

Another of Lincoln’s Celebrity Endorsement quotes

TL;DR Summary This poster uses the method of Celebrity endorsement and appeal to authority  to deliver its message. This quote is – surprisingly – accurate and not taken out of context. There are numerous fake Lincoln quotes appearing in propaganda posters, however.  

Denmark has the world’s highest personal debt – surprised?

Denmark has the world’s highest personal debt – surprised?

A popular and widely distributed social media propaganda poster proclaims Denmark as the happiest nation on earth because of a host of mostly false assertions about life in Denmark. Read the entire series about that nonsensical yet highly effective propaganda here. As yet another counterpoint to that silly poster, Danish households also have the world’s largest level of personal debt: “Danish households owe their creditors 321 percent of disposable incomes, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That’s…

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