Here’s a quote this week from liberal New York Times columnist Charles Blow, former director of the paper’s graphics department: “If Trump wants to beat Barack Obama’s Twitter record for most liked tweet, he only needs to tweet two words: ‘I resign.’”
And on TV this week, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said, “History has shown that fascism must be stopped before it becomes too late.”
I lied. Those are quotes from memes recently promoted in ads on Facebook reportedly produced by accounts linked to Russia. (You know, the same Russians that threw the 2016 election to President Trump.)
But you believed those were real quotes from our own news media because that’s the same type of stale, tried-and-true commentary they provide day in and day out.
The nation is supposed to be in a panic about interference in our elections because Facebook and Twitter haven’t figured out how to completely keep out foreign-backed, campy memes.
But if there is literally no distinction between the Russian ads and the trite columns you can read any day on the op-ed page of the New York Times or hear on MSNBC, what’s the purpose?
U.S. intelligence agencies have determined over and over that Russia continues spreading inflammatory content related to race (Black Lives Matter) and cultural issues (“patriotism”) on social media.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates said Thursday that the intent is to “divide the United States.”
Who knew the U.S. needed help on that front?!
Here’s an experiment: Post the phrase “Build the WALL” on Facebook or Twitter and see what your own friends and family have to say, let alone a random Russian.
Plotting to “divide” America on social media is like scheming to kick things up a few degrees in hell. It’s already on fire, you idiot!
Even liberals opposed to the White House acknowledge that the social media campaign by the Russians isn’t stirring up anything new.
Facebook this week had to alert a bunch of liberal activists that a planned rally meant to counter the anniversary of the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va., was largely spurred by the Russia account “Resisters.”
“Russians might have been there, but Russians are not creating and invoking these feelings,” Caleb-Michael Files, a liberal activist, told the Washington Post. “These are real feelings, not Internet-created feelings.”
One meme during the 2016 election promoted by the Russian-backed account “Army of Jesus” depicted Jesus Christ arm wrestling Satan and was captioned, “Satan: If I win, Clinton wins! Jesus: Not if I can help it!”
Another ad said, “Stop Trump! Stop racism!”
And a third personal favorite featured an illustration of then-Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wearing only a Speedo and flexing for gay rights.
The news media are losing control of their digestive systems over these affronts to democracy, but what’s their solution? Have voters instead read the exact same stupidity but instead under the bylines of Dana Milbank and Michelle Goldberg?
At least the Russian memes come with good pictures.
