PolitiFact Founder Explains the “Epidemic of Lying” in American Politics | Amanpour and Company

[@tonymnQuan]

I grew up in a Replubican household and Adair has it right. I noticed a big change with lying and hate in the early 90s with Gingrich and it's just gotten worse since then (obviously).

[@sirdiealot53]

Yup once they got a way to broadcast their hate (am radio, Facebook, Twitter) they just spew it everywhere

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

The real change was people abandoning reliable newsmedia for social media around 2007. For the first time in history we have huge AI-like algorithms deliberately pumping extremist content into our screens, that inflames our prejudices.

[@Monotremata]

When Gingrich was rising through the ranks of the House GOP, the minority leader at the time lamented that Gingrich and other young Republicans of his ilk were "more interested in picking fights than solving problems."

[@d4mdcykey]

Once some time has passed Gingrich will be fully understood in history books as one of the worst stochastic terrorists this country has ever seen, the societal cancer he is directly responsible for cannot be overstated.

[@alvallac2171]

*Republican

[@toddjones5742]

it's shattering to my wellbeing when I realized that the whole thing is that people just don't care what is actually true or not

[@sophigenitor]

They do care, somewhat. But they also care about purity and in-group loyalty, values they find under attack. So they're perfectly fine with someone lying in defense of these values.

[@m.walther6434]

It's not about facts, I have learned, It's only about emotions. Rage, disgust, hate, a lot of people are addicted to it.

[@TheBorgrR]

Before social media you had this person on the corner of the street or hanging on the bar talking about his conspiracies. People laughed, forgot and went their way. Now this person has a twitter account, a youtube channel, a facebook page, instagram, tik tok... all the "sociale" media crap. And all these persons become a group. And with the drive of clicks and likes, this group became loud. You can't walk away anymore from the person on the corner of the street. You simply counte, because big media is emplefying this crap as "just an opinion".

[@sirdiealot53]

I don’t think these republicans realize how much this violence and lying and hatred reveals that they are secretly homosexual.

[@frankmorris4790]

@@sophigenitor Democrats. Group think central.

[@loisk6186]

Yes, Newt Gingrich. He doesn't get credited often enough for the beginning of the downfall of US politics.

[@buzoff4642]

As politician, yes, but Limbaugh precedes him, in bold hostility and contempt.

[@vbachman6742]

Reagan holds that position. Gingrich just followed him.

[@elizabethhazel6039]

Would not say "credit," but rather "Blame"!!! Credit is for something positive.

[@buzoff4642]

@@elizabethhazel6039 Well, for clarification's sake. Credit means attribute to, but is used so often for positive that the definition becomes muddled.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Credited? He should have been prosecuted.

When the facts are always against you... your only option becomes killing truth.💙

[@os2958]

Exactly

[@ericolsen9819]

or... well crap, I'm wrong. Now I have to apologize and change... I know it sucks, I'm wrong a lot.

[@as3346]

truth and choice and improved options

[@joiedevie3901]

@@ericolsen9819 Yup. One of the most liberating positions anyone can make in an argument is that he/she does not "have to be" right. In other words, one should be open to another argument that might be better grounded than one's own and allow oneself to be persuaded. Even where the Civil War was concerned, Lincoln said "we may BOTH be wrong, but only ONE of us can be right."

[@theostapel]

Heart - within - always feels the truth - work with it.

[@thomasulatowski3012]

“The supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible...” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

[@RobertCaley-h5i]

Of which the wanna be dictator has zero. Bless President Eisenhower. M A Y M E , too.😊

[@velmex12]

Trump just proved Ike was wrong.

[@Snowkobbie]

​@@velmex12Do you call six bankruptcies on your CV and being a convicted felon a success? 😏

[@idamcneill8005]

​@@velmex12 No, Trump proved Ike right, and we will live to regret it.

[@RetNemmoc555]

I always appreciate it when Michel Martin asks her guest to broaden a response to a question, or simply digs deeper into the "why" or "how" aspects. She's a model journalist.

[@AllAroundAdventures]

Not even close. You must not listen to her on npr in the mornings. She's just another shill for corporate media

[@egx161]

It’s not just politics. Lying has filtered into the mainstream of American life. Shame is becoming rare.

[@terriem3922]

I have noticed. Difficult to tell what's real unless you observe it yourself.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

I just had a debate with someone on this very topic. My opponent’s opinion was that we make too much of a big deal about lying. I was raised to believe that lying was a character flaw. He called that rigid & out of touch. That’s the culture we live in today. No wonder tЯump’s so popular.

[@sirdiealot53]

@@ailleananaithnid2566nice Cyrillic “R”. Really drives home his disgusting cowering to putin

[@buzoff4642]

I noticed rampant shamelessness in our politicians about 2006, and thought "We're in a lot of trouble." It means they have the perception of a) no sense of what the public sees as decency, and b) with the concept there will be no repercussions. Preceding that was the evaporation of what is and isn't decent. Early John Boehner, into a reporter's mic, yes, we shouldn't be taking cash from lobbyists on the senate floor, they should send checks to our office. ?!? Early Patrick Lahey, into a reporter's mic, yes I sell my vote if it has nothing to do with Vermont. ?!?

[@sumernoel1553]

True. Everyone wants to go viral by any means necessary & social media is all for it.

[@margaretmargaret6582]

Singapore has a great law: :when a politician makes false claims he is first fined. If he continues to defame opponents or spread l ies he then goes to jail. Jail sentence determined by law

[@hklinker]

Isn’t it the case the opposition there is accused of libel and dragged into court in order to cause them to go broke?

[@jenniehood-bd8nd]

​@@hklinkerlibel is printed or published lies that are damaging. You have to prove harm. I don't think libel laws cover other media.

[@gloriaf6971]

Singapore has strong laws and doesn't tolerate criminal behavior. It is probably one of the safest countries in the world.

[@sirdiealot53]

Can’t do that in America. Free speech.

[@Dade333311]

@@gloriaf6971 respectfully, I prefer the US approach, as flawed as it is.

[@dulcimama]

And, the other-other big thing is how woefully and intentionally ignorant the American electorate is.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

Bingo. We are arrogant enough to think that this is all new & that history has nothing to teach us. How ironic is it that a fascist rises just as nearly every Holocaust survivor has died?

[@annjuurinen6553]

Poor EDUCATION was planned for the POPULACE. It goes along with poor housing, poor food, poor water, poor medical care. It is planned to disenfranchise the American people.

[@johntaylor4817]

To be fair to the electorate they aren’t helped by our weak MSM which gives so much airtime to misinformation and rarely pushes back against it.

[@oltedders]

No child left behind education .

[@mufflejoy]

@@oltedders No child unbeaten by parents (physically or mentally)

[@LovingMontanatoDeath]

I quit FB and Twitter years ago because of the lack of moderation. They are horrible and are destroying our 200+ year old democracy.

[@sirdiealot53]

And that’s in English, the best case scenario. Spanish has next to ZERO moderation not to mention other languages

[@frankmorris4790]

Thnat is about the life span of "democracies> Makes me ever so glad we are a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC, and Armed to the teeth, our Fore Fathers were ALL wise Guys! Montana, Recent pilgrim? I bet

[@FightingForFacts7074]

I’m proud of you for cutting loose the tailored flood of disinformation! It’s a bonafide threat to your good judgment. I hope more of us citizens can break loose.

[@tjord]

@@frankmorris4790 a representative democratic constitutional republic is what the US is. we elect and govern by democratic processes, sending a select representation of democratically elected officials to convene in federal congress to legislate on the behalf of their constituent populaces. please, for your own sake, and the sake of your country, read the federalist papers, no 14. specifically, to better understand why what you are saying is not only wrong, it is outdated thinking.

[@narda1072]

@@frankmorris4790the tytler cycle is still applicable

[@brianhill5009]

Even apart from his stupidity, corruption, irrationality, and verbal offensiveness, Trump's constant lying is a disqualifying characteristic.

[@AlexHop1]

I really like the idea of getting politicians to sign a pledge not to lie. Great interview! So important!

[@sarahkragness7138]

NO --- make it a LEGAL CONTRACT. AN ENFORCEABLE CONTRACT, AS CONDITION OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT.

[@Missusri]

Indeed, very good discussion on lying; I like the fact that he points out the right doing more lying, dangerous lying than the left.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Politicians pledge that all the time. What's one more little fib on top of the lies?

[@Missusri]

@@francoisbouvier7861 It is worth to note that Republicans lie with ease much more than Democrats; further many Republicans lie on record and under oath as if we are all dumb and stupid.

[@PeterP-dj2qi]

Every politician would sign this, the complete right-wing would never adhere to it.

[@watson5551]

I remember joining a framing crew in 87 and hearing Limbaugh blaring out of the radio screaming about liberals for the first time. asked the crew what exactly was wrong with the idea of "Liberty and Justice for all" They didn't have a clue....after a week of hearing trash talk daily I quit. Now they are all MAGA.

[@elreyes58]

Sad brain washing so easy

[@patricksullivan7140]

Well a vote for Kamala Harris is a vote in favor of the Military Industrial Complex. Keep the bombs dropping. They hate Trump because he wants to end the senceless wars. When Dick Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris it should have been a giant red flag. How quickly people forget just who and what Dick Cheney is. KZbin is full of Left Wing Limbaugh wanna be grifters. Jesse Dolemore in particular. Please, spare me your fake sanctimony.

[@Mikearice1]

The fact that a few billionaires own all the media outlets and those outlets reflect their politics is the primary issue.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Actually much more alternate newsmedia is available in the last 20 years since the internet. Before cable you had 4 choices for newsmedia: ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

The real problem is all the information appearing on our screens is fed to us by a few Silicon Valley platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Instagram, chosen by AI-like algorithms focused on our brainstems. They are telling us only the things we want to hear, lies and conspiracy theories that inflame our worst prejudices, making us angry, to increase their profits. Enragement = Engagement

[@as3346]

not to mention, their gains are from don's policies, just like corporations making Biden scapegoat for high prices, because they can't gain tax breaks without bum don

[@SolracCAP]

Yep! Murdoch and now Elon

[@dahliafully]

Bingo. This one too. Monopolization has brought us back to terrible journalism for most people. They missed the fact of a few key public relations corporations feeding these outlets and others for decades without regulation.

[@Jean-kp6cu]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You for this desperately needed service!

[@mikeyang6003]

Many voters don't care if they're being lied to, as long as those lies make them happy!

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Exactly. Social scientists found that people who receive a conspiracy theory that supports their side will spread it, even if they don't believe it personally

[@as3346]

it really does seem that way. FACT CHECK EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING

[@valeriepausch8623]

Republicans have been encouraged to lie by the promise of getting RICH!😢 Pure GREED, JUST LIKE SOME SUPREME COURT JUSTICES. What happened to the pure virtue of telling the truth. It is getting hard to find a honest human being. DARK MONEY IS CORRUPTING ALL OF US.

[@victorialeif9266]

That’s not true. Mikey!!!!

[@FightingForFacts7074]

@@victorialeif9266 Alas, it is true, Victoria.

[@johnbrown1851]

This is one of the best videos on the topic of the lying epidemic that has infected our politics. I wish I could frame the problem as articulately as he does. There should be a follow up video on prescriptions for combatting the disinformation.

[@bucketofbarnacles]

Thank you for featuring Bill Adair.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Thank you, Bill Adair, for a great talk! And for the vital work you do fact-checking politicians and all the rumors on the internet. I agree with everything you said. It is rare to hear a commentator correctly identify the source of all our lies and polarization as social media

[@SantalenaMe]

Excellent offering. Thank You both for this overdue conversation.

[@jimschachtschneider7741]

I can not tell a lie - George Washington I can not tell the truth - Donald Trump I can not tell the difference - MAGA

[@carolthompson6904]

Succinct!

[@earthjustice01]

If Bill Adair is right that many of us are OK believing lies because we are too lazy to take the extra effort to find out the truth about things, this is a pretty serious problem. The way I see it accepting lies is the thin edge of the wedge for corruption. The more that lying is accepted the more corruption and immorality we will see. Case in point: Donald Trump.

[@richgird7959]

Really good interview. Thank you.

[@enochpage1333]

Love these two intellects communicating about a very important topic - political lying - and also love the interviewer’s stylish, well-tailored outfit.

[@marilynulrich9436]

Such intelligent observations. I hope this country is not too far gone to amend itself. That is my fear.

[@chuckkottke]

Interesting. Facebook is the accelerant, Fox is the source.

[@splashesin8]

I think they all decided it was okay for them do when they became weirdly enamored of Rush Limbaugh.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

Perhaps that’s true for the general conservative populace. For policitians, Newt Gingrich happened about a decade earlier.

[@FightingForFacts7074]

And people are still glomming on to unhinged types like Alex Jones.

[@sumernoel1553]

“Pay per lie” advertising just doesn’t sound probable. But withholding our votes does. VOTE THEM OUT. Stop rewarding them for bad behavior.

[@sunnyowens626]

The gentleman is exactly correct. I have been a software engineer, developer, web, apps development, BA, & MA, degrees & I can handle a plethora of information, but deciphering lies /truths, etc. In politics is truly mentally exhausting ALL around but still we have to stay at it with homework effort. It's intent is to just wear-you-down!! Crazy! Just crazy! And people fall into the pitfalls & legal implications, & more. The adjutators (social media, etc.) make it worse! Crazy!

[@as692419]

Don't 'both-sides' this matter.

[@olivergroning6421]

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov, Newsweek 1980

[@AdamBechtol]

We've known this for quite some time! The question is WHAT'S TO BE DONE ABOUT IT?!?!

[@sirdiealot53]

Maybe watch the video where he answers that

[@virtualawakening2299]

1. unsettle liberals enough that they vote. This alone will bring out the obvious majority. 2. convert conservatives into a higher level of compassion and empathy of liberalism. You can't change the far right. They have the same political positions since the founding of the country and will still have the same position a thousand years from now. They are entitled to that.

[@Mary-il6zz]

No consequences for lying? Thats why they keep doing it…

[@DaveReynolds-y3v]

Conservative republicans believe all aspects of conservatism is incontrovertible, therefore everything is acceptable. I think this originally stems from their discomfort with the Nixon affair especially when faced with the legendary status of JFK. ( Whether that legacy is justified or not. ) Since the mid 80s we've been slipping down this slope until we've have fallen down the precipice. Now it is hard to tell what is real and what is not. And it's exhausting to even enter into a conversation because it devolves into a confrontation.

[@gregoryamour3388]

Vote BLUE to stop the MAD MAGA LIARS!

[@sarahhopkinsluvscats]

Republicans would just come up with PolitiLIE to counter Politifact. This is not about values. It is about power. It is about a side that values everyone vs. a side that values only themselves. It doesn’t matter if people are hurt. They don’t matter. Contagious sociopathy is not countered by truth.

[@dahliafully]

The Heritage Foundation and all that Koch money, etc., has now funded all sorts of right wing "fact checking" sites. The line in the sand for truth has moved so far that just basic human decency is now biased.

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

Not just in usa politics... Politicians should be criminally liable for decisions taken whilst in office, especially if this leads to widescale damage & human welfare impacts if such decisions are judged to be deliberate (for personal gain) or due to dereliction of duty of care. Society puts serial killers & other criminals away for harming a few people, but politicians & company execs etc are often rewarded even if they harms thousands, even millions, of people. Something has gone terribly wrong with our democracies!

[@carolthompson6904]

One strategy; vote the liars out of office.

[@derekspringer1596]

NEWT, RUSH, FOX, TRUMP! Sick puppies.

[@briantanguay4768]

Lying has no consequences in American politics. J6 was a peaceful day, with no injuries or deaths...right. One problem is media ownership.

[@hickiwawa]

They don't want to do homework. So, Idiocracy.

[@FightingForFacts7074]

@@hickiwawa As an example: I visited a friend in the hospital. I was chatting with a student intern who was assisting, and we were talking about news programming. She said that she doesn’t really watch the news because she’s only in high school.

[@elspeth8476]

Such good interviews, one after another!

[@tammiepulley7167]

They take advantage of any loopholes in our society -Poor civic education from grade school up -Poor rules to use social media, anything goes -Poor limits on donations to politicians For a start. Plug the holes.

[@terriem3922]

When i was a child, I thought lying was the biggest sin. Family I grew up in.

[@buzoff4642]

A good whap on the rear end took care of that when I was about 5. I wasn't lying, but I did run from trouble, accusation. Once, and only one. However, it didn't take, with narcissist in the family, who's bombast makes Trump look like a pussy cat.

[@witwisniewski2280]

Epidemic of *hatred* needs to be addressed even more. Hatred appears to be the foundation of the majority of right wing politics. Lying, dishonesty are tools that normalize and justify the hated.

[@matt3024]

Without those people the Republican party would collapse!

[@garybowler5946]

We are overwhelmed by bad media coverage.

[@KyleRuggles]

No thanks to Reagan and Clinton.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

On a national level, it is not so much bad media coverage as social media. People don't realize all the lies told by Fox and Friends originate on social media.

[@FightingForFacts7074]

Agree: News networks have to keep viewers and must make news as alluring as possible. This results in sensationalism.

[@tonymnQuan]

But this is about lying, not bad media coverage (lying can figure into that tho")

[@WJV9]

@@KyleRuggles - No thanks to: Nixon, Reagan, Limbaugh, Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Trump, MAGA, etc.

[@IBACb]

The problem is that the American media oligarchs identify their interests as being more in line with autocrats than with democracy.

[@SoZen08]

Not just the media oligarchs: industry leaders have been pumping money into Republican politics for years, undermining oversight on health, environmental, and other essential issues. Another contributing factor to lies

[@db1958]

you're just engaging in more of the "blame them" mantra while absolving individuals of the uninformed and ill-informed choices they make

[@virtualawakening2299]

That is the true deep state. And they have manipulated the conservatives to do their bidding.

[@sumiland6445]

6:13 lying is justified by the goal? That's deviant behavior 🤨

[@tammiepulley7167]

Yes! Give politicians like a credit score for lying and a bad credit score person pays more for their advertising fees.

[@virtualawakening2299]

Who decides? MAGA gives Marjorie A+++. There is no such thing as a neutral party, or that party has all the power.

[@neilifill4819]

As the old saying goes, “a fish stinks from the head.” We live in a country where hierarchy and celebrity prevail. If the leader (or figurehead) makes honesty and integrity a pillar of their life, others will eventually be obliged to do the same. Maybe that’s a solution.

[@SugarSugar75]

A pledge against lies. Where do I sign?

[@RICKONORATO]

Lying has always been an effective tool to control the masses. All religions and cults depend on it.

[@MrGaryparker]

Facebook is the downfall of the world

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

And Twitter, Instagram, Google, Telegram, Parler, and Truth Social

[@greggrowe7048]

...with Instagram right behind. Owned by the same guy...the same company. I knew at the outset that this was evil and not to get on board...just my intuition I guess. Wish most people had it.

[@randyzaucha4049]

Murdoch curse worldwide

[@robertsmith5744]

Facebook software is defective,

[@Dot-Dot-Dash]

How depressing! Vote blue to save Democracy!💙💙💙💙

[@judeangione3732]

We don't lie because we know that we are the party that helps people. The rich always lie and the GOP is the party of the rich no matter how much they are trying to pretend they care about the common man. We don't lie because lying is wrong. We don't need a donor to call us and tell us. We have a conscience.

[@lembergnative7731]

that's justt rank horseshit

[@buzoff4642]

Who's this we you're referring to?

[@kbstrong429]

Never date or vote for people that won’t leave when it’s over and domestic violence and it’s what the most dangerous time

[@bethrossiter1857]

Political speech should not be protected because of the public harm that lying has done. Until our politicians are held accountable for their lives by the public, through the judicial system, it will just continue to get worse.

[@sylvanwoods5271]

This was obvious to those of us who were watching all of this beginning to unfold in the late '80's and early '90's, but I so appreciate it being professionally identified through rigorous data research. Thank you!

[@Hope-w5l]

The new-movie just came out last week Oct-11-2024 ( The Apprentice ). This movie is a BioPic about Trump. You need to see it. Trump is trained to ( lie, lie, lie ) ( deny, deny, deny ) ( attack, attack, attack ) ( declare victory even lost ). This film is showing Trump's personality / character / behavior. Who Trump is in real-life.

[@peterh5165]

Excellent video! I don't think there is much that can be done: this is a societal problem.

[@nickisnyder3450]

I guess his students don't understand that the people who do the charging for advertising, work for the people doing the lying. So they will not charge them more.

[@anthonybogart58]

Pass a law at the national level requiring news organizations to present balanced reporting on both sides of an issue and report only the facts not lies

[@Canuck1000]

Technically, there should not be a law for that, but ethics by news media should be good enough (like it is in other countries). However, I know in Canada, radio and TV licenses are strict and a company could lose its license if they were lying like Fox News.

[@joanturri5500]

We had that. It was called the Fairness Doctrine. They abolished it so that they didn't have to report the facts.

[@Chris-xk4jw]

True! And Ronald Regan put an end to the fairness doctrine in 1987.

[@patriciajump9511]

Their personalities. Their degree of meanness. Their degree of agitation. They exaggerate because of their emotions, and they feel entitled. Yes. Lying is part of their culture. Not all of them, but the loudest ones give all Republicans a bad name. Imo.

[@buzoff4642]

Similar with Far Left. We have Far Left and Far Right overrunning the public. They're the expendable front line for the goals of the rich, with the politicians as the officers calling the battles.

[@iadorenewyork1]

Your analysis, Patricia's, seems more sophisticated than this writer's level of analysis. And he doesn't say the fact that lying is a pathology.

[@JGlassy]

As much as i have an increasing appreciation for fact checking, the irony is stark: such things only matter to individuals or a culture that values anything resembling truth. In our idolatry of convenience, our disdain for education and critical thinking, fact checking is sometimes wasted.

[@iamjane9628]

"If I have to create stories… that’s what I’m going to do." -- JD Vance

[@lynnoble8229]

Great discussion 👏👏👏👏👏

[@lindadavis5668]

Rush Limbaugh !!!! Ba-bye now. Glenn Beck, tuck Carlson,et al

[@phylpott1]

Jd vance said he himself made it up.

[@dahliafully]

He's just like Dumpsterfire Donald, he "owns" his dishonesty in a way that audiences forgive him for lying. It's incredible that people still fall for these types.

[@nancymorneau2869]

Have you thought that the right of speach that is normal has turn in the right to lie in the US? How can trust be established when you know they lie, but the general education and preparedness to discern the truth is so poor?

[@buzoff4642]

It takes homework, and more time than people have these days. It was quite a while to unearth the report Romney kept citing, 40-something percent of people pay no taxes. Was the number accurate? Yes, but not the whole truth. The number was elderly and students working 13 weeks or less per year, with one exception. 1% were _The_ 1%, paying no taxes.

[@FightingForFacts7074]

I am glad you mention preparedness. Teaching units or courses in logic, facts v. opinion, analysis of media info would be terrific. The First Honest Book About Lies was a useful starting point for teens I taught, as it picks apart ads, political jargon, slogans, propaganda, incomplete data, etc. The kids were riveted, and became interested in finding tricky verbiage. It didn’t take as long as I thought to get most students investing in analyzing and becoming well-versed in spotting vague commentary.

[@nancymorneau2869]

@@FightingForFacts7074 i saw some interview about your book, i will surely read it. RN i have a big day ahead, but i'd like to understand some of the issue around the general education to help future adult, but also actual adult, to give them tool to exert a better judgment, as we are in an era where lies are considered as valid as fact for so many people that someone like US voldemor can't be seen as he realy is, as funny and personable as he may be, it is not normal that such a weak person can have that much power. I'll try to find time to formulate questions this week end, have a nice day!

[@FightingForFacts7074]

@@nancymorneau2869 Sure, no worries. I used the book, but the actual author is Jonni Kincher. It’s an entertaining and educational book, but might be out of print, for all I know. I used it back in the 1990-2000 years.

[@buzoff4642]

@@FightingForFacts7074 Private school, critical thinking wasn't a course, it was inherent in every reading assignment from 4th grade on. "Contrast and compare ..."

[@tommy2cents492]

Also: put a large warning label on adds like on cigarettes. "Warning: beleiving this message may cause unnecessary anxiety and mental health issues". 😉

[@TraderRobin]

JD Vance helped me to become an ANTI-VANCER!!

[@dahliafully]

😹 love it

[@charmquark6366]

Unpunished evil will continue doing evil deeds. Fact-checking is now a modern necessity. AI should help as long as the IT giants are willing, or even better, monitored by the people.

[@jeangleason632]

Voted All Blue!

[@python80486]

Really, i don't have a problem figuring what is accurate!

[@ReadMoreHistory-v9u]

There must be accountability for Technology companies or civil society will completely unravel and turn on one another more than they already have. They are harming us for profit but their money shields them from the harms.

[@dahliafully]

Support the work of Lina Khan at the FTC!!! Don't let anyone take her out of the FTC, especially if Harris wins. Harris is getting pressured by tech big donors to fire Lina Khan and really, what the FTC is doing right now is our last best hope! Write the Harris campaign and insist that Khan is kept at the FTC!

[@hamhead2765]

We tell our children to tell the truth. Not to lie. And they grow up in a world where lying is rampant in our political, religious and corporate institutions.

[@anthonymatthews3698]

Because half the audience are incapable of critical thought…

[@briannyob7799]

You can thank organized religion for that.

[@joanturri5500]

All part of the plan. A stupid populace is easy to manipulate and control.

[@dahliafully]

We defunded public schools, we defunded and deaccessed public colleges and universities and put formal education forward as a business instead of a necessity. That started with Reagan taking away a tuitionless UC System and establishing a $150 tuition in 1971. That's almost $2000 a quarter today which shows how much tuition has increased beyond the inflation rate. Red states happen to be far more undereducated and proudly so at this point as liberals see themselves as professionalized and don't do much to expand public education but instead increasingly privatize access.

[@dtriverside8559]

How about moving to compulsory AI factchecks in real-time linked to all political speech on social media. Or is this too far down the rabbit hole?

[@dahliafully]

AI is part of the problem of it all. The last thing we want is artificial fact checking.

[@BillySampson681]

Most rich people stay rich by spending like the poor and investing without stopping then most poor people stay poor by spending like the rich yet not investing like the rich but impressing them

[@CarlosGarcia56590]

People prefer to spend money on liabilities, Rather than investing in assets and be very profitable

[@SherrillHouser1]

You are so correct! Save, invest and spend for necessities and a few small luxuries relatives to one's total assets ratio.

[@MattHardwood1]

This seems like the worst period. Even the market are now very unpredictable. Started investing recently when the market prices were a bit high, today I am more than 60% down!

[@Juanw5ayne]

Don't be confuse buying the dip in a bear market, with guaranteed future returns. Just because that company is down 60% + from ATH does NOT make it a sound long-term investment. Make sure you're investing in great companies. kudos to SUSAN OWEN

[@CharlotteAdam360]

very true, a huge part of my portfolio growth has come during this bear market. I've been able to scale from $180K to $572K in a short period of time. BIG THANKS TO SUSAN OWEN

[@tmarkcommons174]

Instead of asking, "Who won the 2020 election" just ask, "Can you tell the truth when you do not like the truth and it harms your own self interest?" Answer: "Yes" Next question: "Give an example?" Question: "Is admitting that you were wrong a sign of strength or weakness?" Question: "Is apologizing a sign of strength, or weakness." We do not need to guilt-trip anyone or coerce them into a gotcha. Just let them tell us who they are.

[@TheMonkdad]

I just had this conversation with my mid 80's parents. They just don't believe any news anymore. I have to research everything constantly. I believe that it persists because the GOP convinced everyone that this is a war for their existence and everything is fair game.

[@buzoff4642]

"I have to research everything." Yes, and doesn't this just bite. By the way, democrats are also lying.

[@watson5551]

@@buzoff4642 🙄 pullllease.......Mountains and mole hills.

[@buzoff4642]

@@watson5551 Interesting. Original post isn't present. I didn't know youtube edited chat boards.

[@marygemmacapodanno2035]

I’m proud to be a member of the Party that doesn’t lie; lying is a terrible, shameful, despicable and destructive practice. It shows a total lack of character and integrity and a sense of moral turpitude. Who would want that?

[@mamatrain100]

Don't forget the effect of the algorithmic boost controversial and hateful posts get. That totally on the bros that run social media. They should pay out some f their wealth for the harm they've caused.

[@dahliafully]

Support the work of Lina Khan at the FTC!!! Don't let anyone take her out of the FTC, especially if Harris wins. Harris is getting pressured by tech big donors to fire Lina Khan and really, what the FTC is doing right now is our last best hope! Write the Harris campaign and insist that Khan is kept at the FTC!

[@quyenphan3981]

I'm glad to hear that someone actually have the data to show what I've known for a while: Republican politicians lie more because they feel less shame about lying and their constituents care more about themselves and care less about the, sometimes inconvenient, truth. Vote Blue, vote for decency, vote for truth, vote for humanity, vote for DEMOCRACY! 🇺🇲🗳️💙🗳️💙🗳️💙🇺🇲

[@stefanniemiec8727]

What about the myth of 'American exceptionalism' which has been driven for decades? The idea that America, and Americans are 'special' and have unique rights. Culminating in the belief that self belief is the most important thing, which leads to being convinced that whatever they believe - is true. Also, the 24hr 'news' organizations have to fill the time with 'opinion' and drive views to earn advertising - with no rccourse in the legal system for publishing 'untruths' 🤔

[@buzoff4642]

Rewatch the video. It's about lying.

[@pamelagray6854]

DJT Lie: 32,000 immigrants relocated to Springfield. Estimates are at 15,000-20,000. DJT keeps using this inflated number.

[@yelixir]

I don’t think pledge would work, trusting republicans based on virtue would get you no where. I like the ad idea but republicans would lose their shit if it actually happened

[@buzoff4642]

So would democrats. We don't have millions of "asylum seekers". Both sides of the aisle, we don't have "a worker shortage".

[@sandal_thong8631]

What do you do when one party doesn't believe in truth, justice and democracy? I do think we should have ranked-choice voting to allow a couple more parties to develop (one left, one right). This would eliminate the notion that voting first for another party would spoil the election and let someone win who the majority of voters don't want. Second, they say that candidates have to be nicer to each other, because if they can't be your first choice they want to be your second. Maybe this would also reduce the lying? But that seems more to do with alt-right media that supports lying, which the guest pretty much said (though not using the term "alt-right").

[@patriciajump9511]

Right! LAZY!!!! I used to always call them lazy and ignorant. But definitely lazy. I was surprised to start seeing the use of the definition, "low information voter" for them. I wish they knew what was happening. But if they did, how are they supposed to get any truth in their party? They cant!

[@janaka861]

I have a degree in the cognitive sciences… “people don’t want to tease out what’s right or wrong” (paraphrasing)… True, but the essential issue is that human beings are cognitively developed to ascertain from their senses what action to take QUICKLY! In other words, to survive, we need to make quick decisions. We are not developed in a way as to spend a lot of cognitive work parsing the details. Example: the bushes rustled behind me… if I stop to check out what that is I might find a tiger… Uh oh! Better run. What we see in the field of education is that over 50% of children are not motivated to stay in school past 15-17 years old. They decide they have enough and start negotiating the world directly - they get a job. These voters are more likely to be Trump voters. They believe the ‘koolaid’ they are drinking. It’s a black-and-white world. We call that in the field of cognition - ‘concrete operational’ thinking. It is not as sophisticated as one might hope but there is an explanation.

[@clarkpalace]

Its disgusting that these videos consistently receive such little views and comments. Maybe pbs doesnt create enough clubiness or chumminess. I dont know. But thevquality should be viewed by more people

[@buzoff4642]

Or people watch it on TV and have no addiction to youtube and chat boards.

[@FightingForFacts7074]

I wonder if people are getting their news from “infotainment” on TV/online or more from unreliable sources, such as Facebook or even snippets of news in TikTok. This requires people to pay attention for too long. And, something I learned when visiting a friend in the hospital: there was no public station on the cable they offered. They mostly had vintage TV, sports, Fox, game shows. Maybe that’s all some people can get in some regions. ❔❔

[@buzoff4642]

@@FightingForFacts7074 Toxicity is a contagion, via osmosis and smug confirmation bias. Far Left/Far Right, collectives of: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[@karengates5321]

Love the ad pricing idea

[@carolynanderson5033]

what's the epic battle ?? a battle for the most cash ? .......

[@buzoff4642]

Power. And usurping political power for most cash for elite. Suggested reading: 1970s' Trilateral Commission's "A crisis of democracy", where the international elite are PO'ed they've lost control of the public, through "an excess of democracy".

[@joanturri5500]

Pretty much but it's important to wrap it in Jesus and the flag. 😂

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Where does naivete end? Where does ignorance and stupidity take over?

[@josephmiller5399]

Mr. Adair reports on what we have all observed: the Right lies much more than the Left. His comments about a culture of shamelessness, and the recent history dating back to the 90s, Gingrich, and AM talk radio are all true. Adair gives a historical explanation, the recent history of 'how' it developed. But Ms. Martin was asking, not how, but 'why'. I think there is a more fundamental reason why it is so. To understand this, we must distinguish between a conservatism of principle versus a conservatism of circumstance. The former, I would argue, is the 'true' political pole, the other is its dishonest shadow. Principled conservatism, necessary to a healthy political dialectic, guards enduring principles and values from maudlin fad and fashion. It is as necessary for a society to remind itself of guiding stars as it is for the moral life of an individual. Circumstantial conservatism, by contrast, protects the status quo when power and privilege favor a particular class. It is partial, and therefore unjust, and subsequently unprincipled. THIS IS THE ORIGINAL LIE. Circumstantial conservatism, of course, rationalizes itself with appeals to freedom, justice, opportunity, safety. But these, too, become lies so long as it fails truth and justice. There may be an inherent asymmetry in political dynamics in this regard. Conservatism is the disposition to resist change, and therefore improvement, and to deny the very need for improvement. it papers-over injustice and want. So, yes, one would expect more lying on the Right.

[@steffski1946]

Trying to sort fact from fiction is overwhelming

[@tonymnQuan]

But do trust your gut and intuition. Most of this is lying when people really don't know the truth. It's honest to admit you don't know, it's where the path to knowledge starts.

[@buzoff4642]

I agree. It's a lot of homework to get down to the facts, all of the facts. We're heavily peppered by both sides with half truths, when whole truth leads to entirely opposite conclusions.

[@AMCNolan]

The problem being, what is the truth? Thank you PBS for another great interesting show. I think VP Kamala Harris should do a show with your people. Love an Australian.

[@buzoff4642]

Whole Truth, and nothing but The Truth.

[@sunnyowens626]

That idea is along lines of stopping those speeding, is to hit them in the pocket- too many tickets WILL shut you down, so, you start to change the driving behavior. So yes, with advertising to apply that application of an idea will works, & to quantify / measure over time the impact & effect. Your students are "Thinkers" Thank you that someone is focusing on this dangerous problem particularly for those acting impulsive. Thanks. MApsy from MD/ DC Nation's Capitol.

[@tommcfadden5232]

Lying is part and parcel of politics and being a politician, so it seems.

[@garybowler5946]

Did you see the video. It's about the difference between political parties, Republicans are lying way more.

[@tommcfadden5232]

@@garybowler5946yes. But lying is lying. No brownie points for lying less.

[@glenncurry3041]

So you entirely missed ... intentionally? that NO it is NOT all! It is primarily Republicans!

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

But it has been much worse since ~2007 when we abandoned responsible newsmedia for social media rumor mills which amplify lies and conspiracy theories and tell each of us only things we want to hear.

[@stevelundgren990]

A republican politician! 🤯

[@johnscott2964]

Broadcasting lies with significant potential for social harm should be a crime.

[@dahliafully]

Support the work of Lina Khan at the FTC!!! Don't let anyone take her out of the FTC, especially if Harris wins. Harris is getting pressured by tech big donors to fire Lina Khan and really, what the FTC is doing right now is our last best hope! Write the Harris campaign and insist that Khan is kept at the FTC!