On St. Patrick’s Day, the New York Times ran one of those breathless pieces that left-wing media outlets like to publish when they’re running scared. Over a 4,200-word slog, two “journalists” lament that the left is losing the “war over disinformation” because people don’t automatically believe the left’s talking points by default.
“Waged in the courts, in Congress, and in the seething precincts of the internet, that effort has eviscerated attempts to shield elections from disinformation in the social media era,” write Jim Rutenberg and Steven Lee Myers. You can picture their handwringing as they continue, “It tapped into — and then, critics say, twisted — the fierce debate over free speech and the government’s role in policing content.”
Rutenberg and Myers had the nerve to quote Nina Jankowicz, the self-proclaimed “Mary Poppins of Disinformation,” whom the Biden administration tapped to head its abortive disinformation board. Jankowicz decries the “chilling effect” of not allowing the government to quell free speech.
Disinformation was a Soviet specialty, but today’s leftists employ their own type of disinformation. Look at the spin that the White House tries to put on the economic picture, the border crisis, and abortion — and let’s not forget that anything conservatives do proves that they’re authoritarians in the left’s eyes. Facts don’t matter to leftists if they can bend a narrative to their advantage.
The disinformation that the left tries to make us worry about is its own invention. Like the boy who cried wolf, the left cries “Disinformation!” anytime someone makes a statement that doesn’t fit the narrative. What’s worse is that the left uses its contrived criteria for disinformation as a weapon.
Let’s not forget that the Biden administration attempted to set up a Disinformation Governance Board to rule from on high what information was true and what was false. The White House has met with journalists to “tell them what they’re getting wrong” about the administration and its policies, and the administration disinvited unfriendly press outlets to events. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Related: The Left Thinks It Has More Proof That Donald Trump Is Totally an Authoritarian
Here at PJ Media, the left has used the cudgel of disinformation against us plenty of times. We editors have a running spreadsheet of the articles that Google disables due to what it deems “unreliable and harmful claims” or “dangerous or derogatory content.” This month alone, Google has demonetized five articles, four of which dealt with COVID-19. Other particular topics are ripe for demonetization: climate change, transgender issues, and questioning the security of the 2020 election.
Our spreadsheet also has an “Other” category that includes the articles that don’t fit so neatly into the most common categories of demonetized content. Occasionally, Google will flag an article from several years ago simply because it doesn’t like what we have to say in it.
When Google demonetizes us, it takes money away from us, even though we still have to pay our writers and editors. On top of that, social media suppresses the reach of our content. When the left censors and suppresses our content, readers have a harder time accessing our articles, and people can’t access truthful reporting and conservative analysis. If the left can prevent people from accessing the truth, the left’s narrative wins.
When it comes to the “disinformation war,” the left has the upper hand. But that doesn’t mean it has to win the war. You can help us fight those censorship battles by becoming a PJ Media VIP member.
VIPs get access to exclusive content, the comments section, podcasts, and an ad-free experience — which is really a way of sticking it to the man. You can sign up today with the code SAVEAMERICA for an impressive 50% discount.
The discount allows you to become a VIP for about $2 a month, or you can go for the gold with VIP Gold — which gives you all the VIP goodies across the whole Townhall family of sites — for about $4 a month. It’s a small contribution that makes a huge impact.
If you’ve considered becoming a VIP, there’s never been a better time. It’s a great opportunity to get amazing benefits and help us win the war against the left’s disinformation and censorship.
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