Thursday, November 5, 2020

How a story is buried

The Milwaukee City Wire is reporting that Seven Milwaukee wards report more 2020 presidential votes than registered voters. The story has details about the number of registered voters, and of recorded votes for Trump and Biden, in each of Milwaukee's 327 voting wards. Of these wards, 90 reported voter turnout higher than 90%, seven higher than 100%, and one a whopping 202%!

How do you "debunk" something like this without actually, you know, debunking it? Easy. Make up a similar but false story -- using all the same key words -- debunk that, and flood the search results.


Search for the story, and you get tons of "fact check" sites assuring you that it's absolutely false that Wisconsin -- the whole state -- had higher than 100% voter turnout. Was anyone ever really claiming that, or is this just an ad hoc strawman made up for the express purpose of burying the real story? (In other news, it is absolutely false that Joe Biden once raped Jeffrey Epstein's niece in a laptop repair shop in Ukraine!)

I've clicked a few of the "fact check" links, and none of the ones I looked at so much as mentioned the alleged irregularities in Milwaukee. The real story is there in the search results if you scroll down a bit, but of course most people won't do that. They'll take one look at the results, assume there's nothing to see, and move on.

Let me take this opportunity to remind you that I don't vote, don't support either candidate, and don't think it matters much which liar wins. But whoever wins or loses, I sure hope they take a lot of other liars down with them.

But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and rebelled against your holy God; and even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which is unclean, ye are heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of judgment.

Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon.

Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat.

And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose author is Gadianton and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men.

-- Helaman 8:25-28

Oh, by the way, happy Guy Fawkes Day.

No comments:

K. West, five years or hours, and spiders

I was listening to some David Bowie last night and was struck by the album art for  Ziggy Stardust . Right above Bowie is a sign that says ...