[hanniabu]

I mean can you blame them when all you need to do to make a problem go away is say FAKE NEWS and people eat it up? It's much easier then presenting evidence yourself, especially when your motives go against facts, because then you need to find a way to create fake facts like the oil companies do with denying global warming.

[dvtrn]

I once watched, jaw somewhat agape as an attorney on twitter (or someone whose bio said she was an attorney) sparred with other netizens over a claim she had made about an event someone (a third-party) said was taking place in her community relating to a local business.

Respondents began to reply asking for additional information, how the claim could be verified, many simply asked for a source-others expressed concern for accuracy of information because they were potentially affected. Maybe one out of every few were “trollish” by popular definition. I read many of them. Very few seemed to be politically charged or even aggressive towards this attorney, they simply asked for more information.

Her responses were aggressive and antagonistic, calling respondents “trolls” and “enablers”. Even people asking in a considerate and mild mannered way because they were trying to inform themselves on the affair.

No facts ever came out. From the attorney or the local entity she claimed to have information on. She encouraged others to take the lack of information as proof that her friend’s claims were truth. Many did.

It was something to behold. An attorney was sharing what was effectively hearsay on twitter about a local business and actively combatting people asking for more information.

Strange times indeed.

[defterGoose]

Then again, we all know that a lawyer's function is essentially to synthesize plausibility. But as with any job, there are of course people who are bad at it.

[benj111]

"I mean can you blame them"

Yes.

I know that everyone's jaded by various neo-fascist leaders, but this stuff does need to be called out, else it gets normalised.

[hanniabu]

It no doubt needs to be called out, but whatI'm saying is that it's already become normalized and works so they will continue to keep doing it.