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pbmus
pbmus's Journal
pbmus's Journal
October 1, 2019
Trump uses social media as a weapon to control the news cycle. It works like a charm. His tweets are tactical rather than substantive. They mostly fall into one of these four categories.
The tweets either get his framing established first, knowing that whoever frames first tends to win. Or when things look bad for him, he diverts attention or attacks the messenger. And when he wants to test public opinion, he puts out an outrageous trial balloon.
Each tweet gets his message retweeted so he dominates social media. Reporters, social media influencers, and many others fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Every time. They retweet, share, and repeat his messages ad infinitum. This helps Trump tremendously.
They may think theyre negating or undermining him, but thats not how human brains work. As a cognitive scientist, I can tell you: repeating his messages only helps him.
First, it focuses all attention on Trumps antics. This makes his nonsense seem like the most important thing in the world. Its called the focusing illusion and its a large part of why he got elected in the first place. It makes him larger than life.
Second, constant repetition of his Trumps messages embeds them deeply in the brains of millions of people. Whether its locking up his opponents or threatening nuclear war, he has the power to control tens of millions of brains via tweets. He focuses them on his chosen topics.
Third, the constant attacks and outrage increase his credibility with his base. He can portray himself as a victim of the establishment under constant attacks (which he provokes with tweets). He acts, his opponents only react. He is in heroic control.
I understand the desire to portray Trump as childish or deranged. But do you deal with a child or a deranged person by sinking to their level? Do you mock and scorn them, or trumpet their ridiculousness on the front page? No.
Imagine if we took a different approach to Trumps social media antics. Imagine if we put them in a small, quiet corner of the newspaper. Imagine if they were only a minor throwaway item at the end of the newscast. Imagine greeting them with calm clarity, not instant outrage.
Imagine keeping a steely focus on what actually matters: the dismantling of our government; Republicans robbing the middle class and poor to pay off the rich; Robert Muellers criminal investigation into the Trump Organizations betrayal of America.
Imagine if we took back OUR power from this disgraceful man. Imagine if WE decided what was important, rather than dancing to Trumps tune. Imagine if a tweet were just a tweet (or evidence in a criminal case), rather than the dictator of our reality.
We have the power stop him. But we must stop letting him control our media -- and our minds. Its time to give Trump a Twitter Time Out. Lets shrink him down to size. Lets take this weapon out of his hands.
Think of Trump as a puppeteer, his tweets as the strings,
and anyone who retweets/shares him as the puppet. Cut the damn strings!
Two items trending on Twitter right now. One is what Trump wants you to focus on. But THIS is the REAL story he wishes to distract from. Please read it, share it, and keep it real. Release the transcripts!
Opinion | The Republicans Fake Investigations
The attack on our firm, Fusion GPS, is a diversionary tactic by Republicans who dont want to investigate Donald Trumps ties to Russia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/opinion/republicans-investigation-fusion-gps.html?_r=0
#TrumpRussia
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More from @GeorgeLakoff see all
Profile picture
George Lakoff
@GeorgeLakoff
4 months ago
Donald Trumps time in the White House has been marked by constant crisis. He rules by crisis, creating dramas to stoke his political base and normalize chaos. Now, with 2020 looming, he appears to want a war. Can we prevent it? sacbee.com/opinion/articl #MemorialDay
Trump likely views war as key to his re-election, since war has a way of boosting a presidents popularity. Will he force us into an unnecessary war? Will he use national security as an excuse to seize more power, erode the Constitution and increase persecution targeted groups?
Here are 3 ways to short-circuit his war strategy: 1. Call it out: This trumped-up war will only happen because Trump wants it. Say it. 2. Dont buy the lies: Actively disbelieve anything he says on the march to war. 3. Hit the streets. Protest works. sacbee.com/opinion/articl
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
George Lakoff
@GeorgeLakoff
9 months ago
Weve got to remember what the Republican Party is about. - @BobCorker For those in need of a refresher, here is the hierarchy underlying the conservative worldview (as outlined in my 1996 book "Moral Politics."
For a deeper reading of why Trump appeals to Republicans, read "Understanding Trump" (written in June 2016, when most political experts thought his campaign was a joke): georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/und
If you prefer audio, you can also listen to Episode 1 of the FrameLab podcast: "How Republicans Really Think" soundcloud.com/user-253479697
The Con uses social media as a weapon...
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/948424436058791937.htmlTrump uses social media as a weapon to control the news cycle. It works like a charm. His tweets are tactical rather than substantive. They mostly fall into one of these four categories.
The tweets either get his framing established first, knowing that whoever frames first tends to win. Or when things look bad for him, he diverts attention or attacks the messenger. And when he wants to test public opinion, he puts out an outrageous trial balloon.
Each tweet gets his message retweeted so he dominates social media. Reporters, social media influencers, and many others fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Every time. They retweet, share, and repeat his messages ad infinitum. This helps Trump tremendously.
They may think theyre negating or undermining him, but thats not how human brains work. As a cognitive scientist, I can tell you: repeating his messages only helps him.
First, it focuses all attention on Trumps antics. This makes his nonsense seem like the most important thing in the world. Its called the focusing illusion and its a large part of why he got elected in the first place. It makes him larger than life.
Second, constant repetition of his Trumps messages embeds them deeply in the brains of millions of people. Whether its locking up his opponents or threatening nuclear war, he has the power to control tens of millions of brains via tweets. He focuses them on his chosen topics.
Third, the constant attacks and outrage increase his credibility with his base. He can portray himself as a victim of the establishment under constant attacks (which he provokes with tweets). He acts, his opponents only react. He is in heroic control.
I understand the desire to portray Trump as childish or deranged. But do you deal with a child or a deranged person by sinking to their level? Do you mock and scorn them, or trumpet their ridiculousness on the front page? No.
Imagine if we took a different approach to Trumps social media antics. Imagine if we put them in a small, quiet corner of the newspaper. Imagine if they were only a minor throwaway item at the end of the newscast. Imagine greeting them with calm clarity, not instant outrage.
Imagine keeping a steely focus on what actually matters: the dismantling of our government; Republicans robbing the middle class and poor to pay off the rich; Robert Muellers criminal investigation into the Trump Organizations betrayal of America.
Imagine if we took back OUR power from this disgraceful man. Imagine if WE decided what was important, rather than dancing to Trumps tune. Imagine if a tweet were just a tweet (or evidence in a criminal case), rather than the dictator of our reality.
We have the power stop him. But we must stop letting him control our media -- and our minds. Its time to give Trump a Twitter Time Out. Lets shrink him down to size. Lets take this weapon out of his hands.
Think of Trump as a puppeteer, his tweets as the strings,
and anyone who retweets/shares him as the puppet. Cut the damn strings!
Two items trending on Twitter right now. One is what Trump wants you to focus on. But THIS is the REAL story he wishes to distract from. Please read it, share it, and keep it real. Release the transcripts!
Opinion | The Republicans Fake Investigations
The attack on our firm, Fusion GPS, is a diversionary tactic by Republicans who dont want to investigate Donald Trumps ties to Russia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/opinion/republicans-investigation-fusion-gps.html?_r=0
#TrumpRussia
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Try unrolling a thread yourself!
how to unroll video
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You can practice here first or read more on our help page!
Related hashtags
#TrumpRussia
More from @GeorgeLakoff see all
Profile picture
George Lakoff
@GeorgeLakoff
4 months ago
Donald Trumps time in the White House has been marked by constant crisis. He rules by crisis, creating dramas to stoke his political base and normalize chaos. Now, with 2020 looming, he appears to want a war. Can we prevent it? sacbee.com/opinion/articl #MemorialDay
Trump likely views war as key to his re-election, since war has a way of boosting a presidents popularity. Will he force us into an unnecessary war? Will he use national security as an excuse to seize more power, erode the Constitution and increase persecution targeted groups?
Here are 3 ways to short-circuit his war strategy: 1. Call it out: This trumped-up war will only happen because Trump wants it. Say it. 2. Dont buy the lies: Actively disbelieve anything he says on the march to war. 3. Hit the streets. Protest works. sacbee.com/opinion/articl
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
George Lakoff
@GeorgeLakoff
9 months ago
Weve got to remember what the Republican Party is about. - @BobCorker For those in need of a refresher, here is the hierarchy underlying the conservative worldview (as outlined in my 1996 book "Moral Politics."
For a deeper reading of why Trump appeals to Republicans, read "Understanding Trump" (written in June 2016, when most political experts thought his campaign was a joke): georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/und
If you prefer audio, you can also listen to Episode 1 of the FrameLab podcast: "How Republicans Really Think" soundcloud.com/user-253479697
October 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/kaysgramma/status/1178906336471461889
Barr blocking subpoena for the Cons taxes...DOJ involved in coverup
https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1178904907547590657https://twitter.com/kaysgramma/status/1178906336471461889
October 1, 2019
Barr was in Rome to coverup Russia investigations...
https://twitter.com/bishesbrew/status/1178803206257811457Profile Information
Member since: Wed Aug 22, 2012, 08:01 PMNumber of posts: 12,422