Donald Trump had an army of trolls working for him during the election, spreading fake stories, and flaming his opponents.
So it was quite a shock to see him fire one of them.
And no ordinary troll either.
A member of his own transition team.
And the son of Trump's dangerously deranged national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn.
Donald Trump isn’t exactly a voice for social media accountability, so it came as a welcome surprise on Tuesday when Mike Flynn, Jr. was fired from the Trump transition team after spreading a bogus online theory linked to a Washington shooting incident.
General Flynn’s son was one of thousands of online trolls “investigating” #Pizzagate, a wild chain of false claims imagining that Comet Ping Pong, a Washington pizzeria, is a front for a child abuse and trafficking ring led by Hillary Clinton and John Podesta, her former campaign manager.
A man who even after a gunman burst into that pizzeria the other day and found nothing...
Still wasn't willing to believe that #Pizzagate was a fake story...
But then why should we be surprised? When his father shares his love for conspiracy theories.
Both Flynns, like their boss Mr. Trump, have led a rich life on Twitter in recent months. Father and son have spread phony conspiracy theories linking Mrs. Clinton to child trafficking and Mr. Podesta to satanic rituals. “MUST READ!” General Flynn wrote on Nov. 2, linking to fake stories about Mrs. Clinton.
They don't call the general Mad Mike for nothing.
A combing of Michael Flynn's twitter account by Politico shows he has spread conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and their allies. This includes accusing Ms Clinton of being involved with child sex trafficking, "waging a secret war" against the Catholic Church and her campaign manager consuming bodily fluids as part of a "spirit-cooking ritual". Mr Flynn also said president Obama is a "jihadi" who laundered money for Muslim terrorists.
And he's going be Trump's national security adviser...
The person whose job it is to keep the president calm during a crisis.
Great eh?
And to make matters worse, if that's possible, he won't be the only one whispering in Trump's ear.
So will the man who is Trump's favourite broadcaster, and did more to spread lurid stories about Hillary Clinton abusing and killing children than anybody else.
The deranged conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who reacted to the latest news about #Pizzagate this way (Warning PG content)
And although Jones clearly belongs in a mental hospital, he was one of the first people Trump called after his victory, to thank him and promise to be on his show as soon as he possibly he could.
And yes, no wonder Pope Francis is comparing the consumption of fake news to eating excrement.
We are in the hands of a maniac.
Voting does have consequences.
And if you're a progressive who didn't do enough to stop Trump.
I hope you enjoy the show...
Yes, it was progressives who failed to stop Trump. It had nothing to do with the Democratic Party nominating a candidate that polling showed would lose to Trump. It had nothing to do with running a moderate-Republican candidate who promised more of the same, who had been a target of smear jobs for 20 years, and who didn't appeal in any way to progressives.
ReplyDeleteYup, progressives were supposed to vote for Hillary because "lesser evil." Perhaps we can now admit that lesser evil is still evil, call that a failed strategy, and get around to running candidates who are not evil and who actually offer a progressive platform.
hi anon...there were many factors that led to a Trump victory, but by failing to unite or vote to stop him we have ended up with the greater evil. Anyone who doesn't recognize that must be blind, or a Con, or an idiot. As I've said before, I think something good will come out of this disaster, and I'm hoping that it will give rise to a progressive movement for real change. But the damage Trump could do cannot be minimized or denied...
DeleteThe only people responsible for a Trump presidency are those who voted for him. Democrat voters didn't elect him, third party voters didn't elect him, and voters who stayed home didn't elect him. If you want people who didn't vote for Trump to work together for change, stop blaming them for failing to prevent the majority of white voters from selecting the orange shit-gibbon.
Delete"And if you're a progressive who didn't do enough to stop Trump."
ReplyDeleteThat would be you. You didn't try hard enough to help our neighbors down south Simon. Shame!
hi anon...actually I did do my humble, very humble part. I helped my cousins and their friends in Maine hold back the Trump forces. And save at least one electoral seat. Maine still is half liberated, and the next time I go down there my cousins have promised to buy me a big steaming lobster... ;)
Delete"John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, is PRESUMABLY interested in ...
ReplyDelete"SOME are even linking the spirit cooking revelation to claims ...
"OTHERS are connecting it to ...
"While the child trafficking and pedophile CONNECTIONS to Clinton remain unproven ... her campaign chairman is APARENTLY into ..."
Now we know where Trump learned the technique.
Meanwhile, while some are suggesting and still others are claiming that an Internet personality, known for his insistence on high standards in personal hygiene and who many people have linked to a successful political candidate, is apparently a fugitive from a treatment centre for the pathologically untruthful and presumably has connections to brainwashing cults and possibly even unsolved ritual dismemberments, all suggestions, links, connections and claims remain unproven.
hi John...I can't deal with all those fake stories, to believe that anybody could believe them, makes me question my own sanity. Even Big Brother himself would be astonished, and no doubt envious. We live in a crazy world ,and I can only hope that sanity will prevail...
DeleteIts always been part of the human psyche to prefer embellished drama to plain vanilla truth. In recent years the government sponsored propaganda machine used it to justify whatever those controlling the levers of power saw fit. Want to invade a country .. just shout weapons of mass destruction and that the bad guys mass kill civilians but our bombs only kill terrorists. Want a regime change just shout ... Russian aggression! The list goes on. Some claims true, some not, even whistle blowers who tried to tell the true story were branded traitors. Investigative journalism had no chance, even long established scientific communities were attacked as if they had been propelled back into the dark ages. Its only logical that someone would turn this finely honed propaganda machine back on their own people. We can blame communication technology, social media,simple minded people but in reality it is the desire for embellished news combined with unscrupulous politicians fueled by big money being deluded into thinking that the right story at the right time could control anything. The fountain of perpetual power!!
ReplyDeleteIts not likely to end well but the Canadian electorate did manage to put the brakes on the Harper government's propaganda machine and attempted destruction of the scientific community. The US problem is more advanced but at the same time it is more visible and it would only take a shift in public demand to stop fabricating and spreading propaganda before it reaches a catastrophic climax. Judging from some of his cabinet selections Trump seems determined to kick it up a notch but hopefully that will only redouble efforts to stop the insanity. The people have the power they just need to focus on the right issue....LIES.
RT
hi RT...thanks for your thoughtful comment. And you're right, it has been a long time coming. And the internet which we thought would liberate us, has shown it can confuse us and enslave us as well.
DeleteBut as you point out, we did beat back the Harper propaganda machine, and hopefully the truth will in the end also set our neighbours free...