We are one of the last states to vote in this Democratic primary. Our vote won’t matter much this year as the primary has already been more or less decided, which is par for the course. With that said, I honestly expect Bernie to have a convincing win in this state. Probably not quite as big as Washington due to the difference between caucus and primaries, but convincing none the less.
Iv’e seen my peers on social media and in real life veer strongly toward Bernie over the past few months. That’s fine. Bernie is a great candidate, and I would be happy if he ended up in the White House. What has increasingly troubled me, is the reasoning and thought process that I have seen many of them use to rationalize their support. Take a look at just a few of the posts I’ve seen from people I actually know* over the past few days.
This is actually a pretty representative look at what the political posts being shared by those around me look like. Again, I don’t have any problem with people supporting Bernie. What I find perplexing is how divorced from reality so many of my peers have become. I know these people. In real life they they are successful, intelligent people. Many of them have good jobs, are highly educated, and well read. How did they end up believing in things like the existence of paid Clinton operatives taking people’s ballots on the street and throwing them in the trash? What would lead someone to actually believe that Hillary Clinton’s SuperPAC shut down Bernie Sanders Facebook groups? What’s even worse is these individuals seem bent on proclaiming that they are “telling the truth” and that they are doing some sort of public service by spreading this information.
How did an information bubble like this come to exist, and become so widespread? I have a theory I would like to share.
- Because Bernie was not being covered by the mainstream media all that much, his fans began to seek out information about him online.
- Political blogs, youtubers, and other digital media providers began to realize that there was an unfilled need for Bernie-centric media and began to produce it in order to serve that audience.
- Because those new media outlets don’t have processes (or a need) for journalistic integrity or to maintain a long term reputation, they began driving more and more sensational narratives in order to maximize their views by their audience.
- As young adults interested in Bernie became used to going to new sources for their political information they wanted, some began to question the integrity of traditional sources, and in many cases believe that the only “true” information is coming from these alternative sources. In many cases, those viewers begin to believe other media sources are “anti-Bernie”.
Why do I care about this? Why do I think it’s important? Because it’s a pattern, that I think we will be likely to see repeated again over the next few years if not decade. It’s a process that could result in outcomes far worse than people thinking Bernie is actually leading in polls in California. Right now, we seem quite sure of the Democratic candidate's chances in the fall. The general populace will see Trump for the (insert explicative here) he is, and he will be defeated. But what if this type of thinking and information dissemination becomes par for the course? Perhaps the general populace won’t see what we think they will at all. Perhaps they will be tuned into an alternate reality, where Trump is the most qualified, his plans are the most realistic, his vision for America the most compassionate.
This is not intended to fear-monger. I do believe Trump will be defeated. This intent of this diary only to re-iterate the importance of where we get our information. Like many people, I was very optimistic about the power of the internet to transform society. It truly does give most people the opportunity to research and become informed in a way never before possible. It also creates new opportunities to mislead people, and create bubbles of “truth”. As a liberal who is fighting for a better world, I want to base my decisions on an objective truth, on reality if such a thing actually exists. I also hope this diary has not offended Bernie fans, as that was not my intention. I recognize that most Bernie fans do not rely on the poor sources of information I have given examples of above. If his movement is to have real long term success past this election, part of that should entail making sure that all of those that are part of the movement are well-informed, not just informed. I hope to be part of that movement.
*I know this isn’t a representative sample. It’s only 1000 (give or take) 20-30 year olds in the metro areas of Oregon. 80-90% of them likely identify as liberal. Results may vary for other people in the same area. With that said, I think we have all seen a fair amount of this in some form or another.