How Fake News & Misinformation Lead to the Insurrection
The President Trump’s assaults on democratic ideals date back to before he even formally held the office, when he attempted to undermine public trust in the news media during the 2016 election. He attacked the authority of the press as an arbiter of the truth in order to claim authority over the truth for himself. In effect, he can convince his supporters of anything and everything, chief of which is that the “rigged” election has denied them of their rights. The storming of the capitol is the manifestation of years of convincing lies. Here is a timeline of how Trump systematically eroded public trust in democratic institutions:
“Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people.” [Jan 20, 2017]
“My people came to me, [then Director of National Intelligence] Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this. I don’t see any reason why it would be.” [July 18, 2018]
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.” [Final Presidential Debate, Sept 29, 2020]
“The BIG Protest Rally in Washington, D.C., will take place at 11:00 A.M. on January 6th. Locational details to follow. StopTheSteal!” [Tweet on Jan 1, 2021 2:53:03 PM EST]
“We’re going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” [Save America Rally Jan 6, 2021]
Washington Post Trump Fact-check Database
The Washington Post has composed a database containing over 30,000 false claims made by Trump which they fact-checked and uploaded.
60 Minutes: Trump’s Phone Call with Georgia’s Secretary of State
Donald Trump and his allies have been spouting false claims and boosting bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Trump has claimed wide-spread voter fraud due to hacked voting machines, illegal immigrants, dead voters and more. Most, if not all of these claims have been disputed and disproven, and officials in each state representing both political parties have stated “that there was no evidence that fraud or other irregularities played a role in the outcome of the presidential race“.
Trump has also encouraged his supporters to shun news agencies that have acknowledged Joe Biden as the winner of the election, instead turning them towards far-right “news” sites like NewsMax and One America News Network. NewsGuard, an independent organization that rates news sites on criteria of credibility and transparency, has given both of these news websites failing grades.
One America News Network regularly posts stories with false or distorted information, and neglects to differentiate between factual news and opinion pieces. The site is focused on far-right and conservative issues like abortion, immigration, Donald Trump, the economy, and the Democratic Party leadership. OANN often posts unfounded conspiracy theories and incorrect statistics, focusing on content that casts Republicans and Trump in a positive light.
NewsMax is a conservative site and cable television network that has published false health claims and unfounded conspiracy theories. The owner of NewsMax, Christopher Ruddy, has “described himself as a close friend of U.S. President Donald Trump.” The site has pushed false claims about the dangers of vaccination, debunked theories about vaccines’ effect on autism, and fluoride in water. These articles spread unsupported health theories with either a complete lack of sourcing or use of sources that do not use independent scientific methods.
