Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Conspiracy Theories Are A Secondary Infection

Presidents Reagan and Clinton never threatened to put journalists in jail. The whole idea of trying to suppress Twitter would have been alien to them. And yet, here we are.

The European Union is calling Elon Musk to order over how he turned social media site X into a haven for disinformation and illegal content.

The EU Commission on Friday formally charged X for failing to respect EU social media law. The platform could face a sweeping multi-million euro fine in a pioneering case under the bloc's new Digital Services Act (DSA), a law to clamp down on toxic and illegal online content and algorithms.

That took about 30 seconds to find through the utterly compromised Google search engine. There's tons and tons of it out there.

Why now?

If things were going well, if our culture was healthy, it would be obvious. All of that "misinformation," whatever it is, wouldn't find much of a purchase in our collective consciousness because the evidence from our lives would contradict it. There have always been conspiracy theorists spouting nonsense, but unless the body politic is weak and sick, they can't do much damage. Conspiracy theorists are a secondary infection.

There is so much data, obvious to all, that tells us we're sick. Marriage rates, fertility rates, the deficit, the debt, drug overdoses, crime, illegal immigrant invasions, racial strife stoked to white hot by our own educational institutions, the mutilation and poisoning of young adults in pursuit of sexual degeneracy, the list goes on and on and on.

Conspiracy theories explain the seemingly unexplainable. How is it possible that we've reached this state of affairs? When some of the conspiracy theories turn out to be true, all the others get a shot of adrenaline.

In Southport, England, three little girls were stabbed to death at a party. Here is the picture the news media ran of the attacker.

His name is Axel Muganwa Rudakubana. As can easily be discerned from his name and his photo, he's Welsh. At least that's what the newsmedia told us. Disinformation was rapidly spread by social media and some bigots were actually jailed for participating in the conspiracy theories.

A Stabbing Attack, Viral Falsehoods and Fears of a Summer of Unrest in the U.K.

A judge allowed the naming of the 17-year-old charged with murder, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed a crackdown on riots fueled by far-right misinformation.

Seeking to quell a surge of misinformation-fueled unrest, a British judge on Thursday took the unusual step of naming the 17-year-old suspect in a stabbing rampage that left three children dead and eight injured in northwestern England early this week.

The suspect, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, appeared in a Liverpool court to face three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.

The stabbing spree, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town of Southport on Monday, stunned Britain and ignited two days of racially fueled riots, in multiple cities, that were incited by far-right provocateurs.

Now it turns out that the guy, who, these days, looks nothing like the innocent lad in the photo, was, in fact, picking up tips on killing from al Qaeda. Kind of like what the far-right bigots who are now in jail said he was.

A teenager accused of killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for young children in the United Kingdom has been charged with possessing an al Qaeda training manual and ricin poison.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 18, already faces three murder charges, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of knife possession, authorities said Tuesday. The new charges were filed under the country's Terrorism Act, police said. 

The poison and PDF study, "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The al Qaeda Training Manual," were found during a search of Rudakubana's home, police said. 

There aren't any photos immediately available of him now, but there is this courtroom sketch.

My word, our little stabber certainly has grown up, hasn't he? Also, what happened to his hair? It seems ... different, somehow.

So, to return to the topic of the post, why the crackdown on "disinformation?"

Because, some of it at least, is the truth and we can see it with our own eyes.

You don't need censorship when things are going well.

Extra Super Special Bonus Content

The ever-effervescent Katie Hopkins has this summary of the "Welshman's" stabbing attack. Watch the whole thing.

No comments: