SOCIAL MEDIA HATE TRAIN
When on Social Media Platforms, it seems that many I encounter have signed up for subscriptions of derogatory, almost hateful, posts against a political opponent, idea, company, and even just wearing a mask due to Covid-19.
Some, and this seems to be happening more and more, do not even add any of their own words and just share them with friends on their social media sites, with little to no thought. I have asked many why they do, and the usual response, is that it is funny, or humorous. I call this Social Media phenomenon, the “Hate Train”, because the people I am describing just seem to jump on board.
When people attack their political opponents, ideas, companies, or other types of things with little to regard to what they say, without looking for any evidence, or caring if a message is true or not, into the public Social Media Arena, it is propaganda.
Propaganda as defined by Merriam-Webster is:
1: a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions, (Curia main definition is: a division of the ancient Roman people comprising several gentes of a tribe).
2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause also: a public action having such an effect.(1)
Propaganda can lead to people actually believing these hateful messages and can lead to people taking drastic actions. An Example of this are the actions of Alex Jones. Through Social Media Platforms Facebook , Twitter, and others, a series of messages and posts stated that Hillary Clinton was running a Pedophile Ring out of a basement of a pizza place in Washington D.C.
Alex believing these Hate Train propaganda messages, jumped on board, and walked into the alleged site of the Pedophile Ring, Comet Pizza, with a 9mm pistol, AR-15 Rifle, and a folding knife. He shot off locks of storage areas while searching for criminal activity, and finding none was arrested. (2)
The same allegations of Pedophilia on a new Hate Train, were used against President Elect Joe Biden and even Tom Hanks has been targeted as a Pedophile by Hate Train authors. (3)
While Entertainers and Political People are in the public spotlight, they are real people, that have real lives. Through Hate Train subscriptions and sharing, they are degraded, and slandered with little thought, like they are fictional characters. The Hate Train, is used to attack, not to educate. It is not humor, it is usually slander, and changes its targets lives, and leads to violence and anger, against those it targets.
What can we do? The next time you see the Hate Train, do not jump on it, and ask those who are on it, for facts and sources, point out its destructive power, and perhaps, for that individual, the Hate Train will stop, and they can get off it.
Sources (Left in to validate):
(1) Propaganda | Definition of Propaganda by Merriam-Webster (merriam-webster.com) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda
(2) Pizzagate: Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal - Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/anatomy-of-a-fake-news-scandal-125877/
(3) Crying 'Pedophile' Is the Oldest Propaganda Trick in the Book | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/crying-pedophile-is-the-oldest-propaganda-trick-in-the-book/
When on Social Media Platforms, it seems that many I encounter have signed up for subscriptions of derogatory, almost hateful, posts against a political opponent, idea, company, and even just wearing a mask due to Covid-19.
Some, and this seems to be happening more and more, do not even add any of their own words and just share them with friends on their social media sites, with little to no thought. I have asked many why they do, and the usual response, is that it is funny, or humorous. I call this Social Media phenomenon, the “Hate Train”, because the people I am describing just seem to jump on board.
When people attack their political opponents, ideas, companies, or other types of things with little to regard to what they say, without looking for any evidence, or caring if a message is true or not, into the public Social Media Arena, it is propaganda.
Propaganda as defined by Merriam-Webster is:
1: a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions, (Curia main definition is: a division of the ancient Roman people comprising several gentes of a tribe).
2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause also: a public action having such an effect.(1)
Propaganda can lead to people actually believing these hateful messages and can lead to people taking drastic actions. An Example of this are the actions of Alex Jones. Through Social Media Platforms Facebook , Twitter, and others, a series of messages and posts stated that Hillary Clinton was running a Pedophile Ring out of a basement of a pizza place in Washington D.C.
Alex believing these Hate Train propaganda messages, jumped on board, and walked into the alleged site of the Pedophile Ring, Comet Pizza, with a 9mm pistol, AR-15 Rifle, and a folding knife. He shot off locks of storage areas while searching for criminal activity, and finding none was arrested. (2)
The same allegations of Pedophilia on a new Hate Train, were used against President Elect Joe Biden and even Tom Hanks has been targeted as a Pedophile by Hate Train authors. (3)
While Entertainers and Political People are in the public spotlight, they are real people, that have real lives. Through Hate Train subscriptions and sharing, they are degraded, and slandered with little thought, like they are fictional characters. The Hate Train, is used to attack, not to educate. It is not humor, it is usually slander, and changes its targets lives, and leads to violence and anger, against those it targets.
What can we do? The next time you see the Hate Train, do not jump on it, and ask those who are on it, for facts and sources, point out its destructive power, and perhaps, for that individual, the Hate Train will stop, and they can get off it.
Sources (Left in to validate):
(1) Propaganda | Definition of Propaganda by Merriam-Webster (merriam-webster.com) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda
(2) Pizzagate: Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal - Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/anatomy-of-a-fake-news-scandal-125877/
(3) Crying 'Pedophile' Is the Oldest Propaganda Trick in the Book | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/crying-pedophile-is-the-oldest-propaganda-trick-in-the-book/