MISINFORMATION - Right-Wing Social Media Finalizes Its Divorce From Reality

Fox News acknowledged Trump’s loss. Facebook and Twitter cracked down on election lies. Mainstream social platforms have continued to label wild claims and false allegations and reduce their spread; Facebook has taken down some of the more extreme communities that have sprung up among its users. Yet reducing the supply of misinformation doesn’t eliminate the demand.

But true believers can get their misinformation elsewhere. Powerful online influencers and the right-wing demi-media—intensely partisan outlets, such as One America News and Newsmax, that amplify ideas that bubble up from internet message boards—have steadfastly reassured Trump’s supporters that he will be reelected, and that the conspiracies against him will be exposed, and keep this voting base energized.

Parler, whose backers include the conservative donor Rebekah Mercer and the prominent pro-Trump activist Dan Bongino, was founded in 2018 and began marketing itself to a right-wing audience that felt victimized by supposed censorship on mainstream social platforms. Read more ... Also "How to Have Productive Conversations About Election Misinformation"