The long, dark history of disinformation in the US
October 29, 2021 1:15 PM Subscribe
Rigged is an online archive and podcast documenting the history and evolution of disinformation in America researched and curated by investigative journalist Amy Westervelt. Westervelt, a longtime and award-winning environmental journalist, is the host of the climate disinformation podcast Drilled and the founder of the women-run podcast network Critical Frequency.
It contains new articles, profiles of many key villains, an excellent glossary, and over 1,000 deeply researched archival images documenting the history of disinformation in the US right up to today.
Yes, a very interesting resource. And as you say almost heartening - it seems to all be out in the open, yet it also seems that by the utmost striving we may succeed in peeling back only the latest layer of this hideous onion. Many of the rest were in place before even our parents or grandparents were born.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:07 PM on October 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:07 PM on October 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
Based on what I'm seeing from anti-vax friends, this history is a big part of why they don't trust what they're hearing from governments and drug companies about vaccines. It makes me think of the CIA's fake vaccine campaign in Pakistan and the way that it broke down trust for legitimate care providers. Each time some poison gets put into the information well some people stop drinking from it, even if the water in it is usually perfectly fine.
One thing that I find weird about the "techniques" page is that it doesn't mention the CIA or FBI once. I'll have to dig more to see if our old friends J. Edgar Hoover or the Dulles brothers show up at all.
posted by clawsoon at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2021 [17 favorites]
One thing that I find weird about the "techniques" page is that it doesn't mention the CIA or FBI once. I'll have to dig more to see if our old friends J. Edgar Hoover or the Dulles brothers show up at all.
posted by clawsoon at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2021 [17 favorites]
Based on what I'm seeing from anti-vax friends, this history is a big part of why they don't trust what they're hearing from governments and drug companies about vaccines.
Decades ago, when we first started hearing about global warming, I was some mix of skeptical and unconcerned, because I was aware of how the media liked to get audiences by telling scary stories. I was just old enough to remember the 1977 Time magazine cover about the new ice age that was bearing down on us.
About twenty years ago, I decided I wanted to better understand the issue, and I read every book on climate change I could find. I remember that one book quoted a climate scientist saying (I'm obviously paraphrasing at this point), "Nearly always, the average person is more worried about an issue than scientists in that field are. Global warming is the only issue I've ever seen where the experts are significantly more afraid than everybody else." I found that really persuasive, because it spoke so directly to my own distrust of the media and its fear-mongering ways.
posted by Orlop at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2021 [24 favorites]
Decades ago, when we first started hearing about global warming, I was some mix of skeptical and unconcerned, because I was aware of how the media liked to get audiences by telling scary stories. I was just old enough to remember the 1977 Time magazine cover about the new ice age that was bearing down on us.
About twenty years ago, I decided I wanted to better understand the issue, and I read every book on climate change I could find. I remember that one book quoted a climate scientist saying (I'm obviously paraphrasing at this point), "Nearly always, the average person is more worried about an issue than scientists in that field are. Global warming is the only issue I've ever seen where the experts are significantly more afraid than everybody else." I found that really persuasive, because it spoke so directly to my own distrust of the media and its fear-mongering ways.
posted by Orlop at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2021 [24 favorites]
Fuck I wish I knew about these sooner and I am grateful for them now
posted by glaucon at 6:37 PM on October 29, 2021
posted by glaucon at 6:37 PM on October 29, 2021
... this history is a big part of why they don't trust what they're hearing from governments
Talk about a Crisis of Confidence ...
posted by torii hugger at 7:01 PM on October 29, 2021
Talk about a Crisis of Confidence ...
posted by torii hugger at 7:01 PM on October 29, 2021
The New York Times has an opinion piece on New York city's attempt to combat organized campaigns spreading Covid misinformation targeting their citizens. Social media monopolies must be broken up if only because their current configuration makes poisoning public discourse so easy. At least with Meta split up it would be more expensive to wage a misinformation campaign.
posted by rdr at 3:42 PM on October 31, 2021
posted by rdr at 3:42 PM on October 31, 2021
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posted by PhineasGage at 1:19 PM on October 29, 2021 [2 favorites]