The U.S. will mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Saturday, a milestone that will confer upon the reality-dwelling citizenry a grim reminder of the potency of propaganda and how quickly it can warp perception when introduced into the public square.

Just three years ago, most of the country watched with dismay and horror as a violent MAGA mob beat back authorities and stormed the country’s citadel of democracy. The Donald Trump-incited crush of disillusioned rioters, fueled by a stream of fantastical lies, believed that the 2020 election had been stolen by sinister forces working to undermine the democratic election.

Of course, not only was their belief flatly incorrect, but evidence later emerged indicating that it was Trump who, in fact, had tried to subvert democracy.

Facts, however, have little bearing on the sentiment inside the Republican Party, which has been fed a steady diet of lies and half-truths by Fox News and the rest of the sprawling right-wing media machine. To wit, the false notion that Joe Biden nefariously stole the 2020 election is now widely shared inside the GOP. A CNN poll conducted over the summer found that nearly 70% of Republicans believe Biden’s win was not legitimate, a number that has continued to tick up.

  • Smacks@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    My MAGA dad keeps telling me it was an inside job by the Democrats. He’s saying everything was filmed way in advance by actors and everything was peaceful because of this mystical “new evidence” coming out; all the cops were a-part of the FBI, CIA, ect.

    • nutsack@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      my parents are like this. i have never taken them seriously regarding anything

      • Illuminostro@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        My sister was a medical lab tech for over 40 years, in a hospital, and she’s a vaccine denier. I can’t understand that. It’s all Fauci’s fault. But she fills her head with fear and hate from Fox every night.

        • Moira_Mayhem@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          We like to pretend being smart or in a demanding skill field somehow makes people immune to propaganda.

          Studies show it doesn’t, and in fact opens up major blind spots that sometimes cause highly intelligent people to be more susceptible outside their fields of expertise.

    • Moira_Mayhem@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      On the other hand, Jan6 finally snapped my dad out of his trump worship and he’s already told the family he’s not voting for him.

      Of course he’s not voting democrat either, just he’s not voting at all.

      Small victory I guess.