| We are already very good at detecting and routing around #1. The problem is people use #2 and #3 to build up ideologies in the same way that advertisers build up brands. Take for example the wage gap between genders. There is a moderate wage gap (20-30%) if you look at unadjusted figures. Fringe feminists try and use this stat to build a general sense of unease with their followers. This primes the reader for a few anecdotes of women being unfairly passed over for promotion and the reader walks away thinking there is a widespread issue of women being treated poorly in the workplace. White nationalists do the same thing. It is a fact that African Americans make up a disproportionate amount of murderers by race. White nationalists will then use a few anecdotes of African Americans killing innocent white families and the reader walks away with a negative impression of African Americans. And now see what I've just done with my comment: I've linked white nationalists and feminists. By placing these two examples together I am connecting them for the reader and subtly discrediting these feminists. |