<
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/hurricane-milton-conspiracies-misinformation/680221/>
"The truth is, it’s getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful
percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality. As Hurricane Milton
churned across the Gulf of Mexico last night, I saw an onslaught of outright
conspiracy theorizing and utter nonsense racking up millions of views across
the internet. The posts would be laughable if they weren’t taken by many people
as gospel. Among them: Infowars’ Alex Jones, who claimed that Hurricanes Milton
and Helene were “weather weapons” unleashed on the East Coast by the U.S.
government, and “truth seeker” accounts on X that posted photos of condensation
trails in the sky to baselessly allege that the government was “spraying
Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton” in order to ensure maximum rainfall, “just
like they did over Asheville!”
As Milton made landfall, causing a series of tornados, a verified account on X
reposted a TikTok video of a massive funnel cloud with the caption “WHAT IS
HAPPENING TO FLORIDA?!” The clip, which was eventually removed but had been
viewed 662,000 times as of yesterday evening, turned out to be from a video of
a CGI tornado that was originally published months ago. Scrolling through these
platforms, watching them fill with false information, harebrained theories, and
doctored images—all while panicked residents boarded up their houses, struggled
to evacuate, and prayed that their worldly possessions wouldn’t be obliterated
overnight—offered a portrait of American discourse almost too bleak to reckon
with head-on.
Even in a decade marred by online grifters, shameless politicians, and an
alternative right-wing-media complex pushing anti-science fringe theories, the
events of the past few weeks stand out for their depravity and nihilism. As two
catastrophic storms upended American cities, a patchwork network of influencers
and fake-news peddlers have done their best to sow distrust, stoke resentment,
and interfere with relief efforts. But this is more than just a misinformation
crisis. To watch as real information is overwhelmed by crank theories and
public servants battle death threats is to confront two alarming facts: first,
that a durable ecosystem exists to ensconce citizens in an alternate reality,
and second, that the people consuming and amplifying those lies are not
helpless dupes but willing participants."
Via
Garbage Day: Caroline Calloway survived the hurricane
https://www.garbageday.email/p/caroline-calloway-survived-the-hurricane
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
