I read a piece on Huffpost by Nick Robins-Early about the right-wing media entitled “Right-Wing Radio Reaches Tens of Millions. Coronavirus Conspiracies Are Out of Control.” It reported that among conservative Republicans the most trusted sources for news are Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. These are only the cream on the top, for there is a crowd of people making their livings by tricking and riling up the ignorant. I have long said that the election of Donald Trump is the most prominent evidence of the failure of American education. Our country is peopled with born suckers who remain that way because they’ve not been taught to think critically and are ready buy the Brooklyn Bridge (if they’re not asking too much for it).

Trump has complained about the social media, that they suppress “conservative” thought. Let me say first, that I do not think there are any authentic conservatives left in the U.S., for it seems that all on the right are marked with the sign of the bestial Trump. Secondly, the internet is crawling with right-wing websites, some of them virtually criminal. The far-right also commands far greater and more effective outlets on TV and especially talk-radio. Distributing information or even “conservative thought” is not the goal of right-wing radio (including many radio evangelists). Misinformation is their game, and first the anti-vaxers and then the corona virus deniers have spread misinformation that will prove lethal.

What is the goal, then, of Fox News, Limbaugh, and Hannity and all the lesser liars. They spread misinformation and misunderstandings to inflame the hatred of those who feel excluded, of the uneducated and of bigots against rationality and authentic freedom. They weaponize the unthoughtful against whatever target their owners tell them. Yes, their owners, for I do not think that any of these voices of the right is underpaid, and I do think that many of them are cynical actors well paid to act out resentment, indignation, hate, and bigotry. Moreover, the many vehicles available to them for spreading their message would excite the envy of, e.g., the Nazis who had to get by with only print, film, and radio.

But, all the people whom they manipulate and arouse are allowed to vote. Ignorant, biased, and resentful voters can be used to murder democracy. A skilled con-man, like Mr. Trump, can work them like silly-putty. And when, as in the United States, the supreme con-man has the backup of sources of money who finance the manipulation of the public on a vast scale, does true democracy have a chance?

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