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erronis

(23,424 posts)
Sat Feb 28, 2026, 08:01 PM 9 hrs ago

Word To The Wise -- Digby

https://digbysblog.net/2026/02/28/word-to-the-wise-2/

Not that most DU'ers trust the xitter. I do wish that more of us would not directly reference the xitty posts. Perhaps try to cite the original information if possible.



Don't look to Twitter for information. It's nothing but toxic swill (Wired):

Minutes after Donald Trump announced that the US and Israeli governments had launched a "major combat operation" against Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning, disinformation about the attack and Tehran's response flooded X.

WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X, some of which have racked up millions of views, that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack. Elon Musk's social media platform is a verifiable mess: In some cases, alleged video footage of the attack shared in posts on X are actually months or years old. In several posts, video footage of apparent attacks have been attributed to incorrect locations. A number of images shared on X appear to be altered or generated with AI. Other posts attempt to pass off video game footage as scenes from the conflict.

X did not respond to a request for comment. Under Musk's stewardship, X has become a haven for disinformation, especially during major global breaking news events. At the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, and more recently during anti-immigration enforcement protests in LA, the platform has drowned in inaccurate and faulty posts.

Almost all of the most viral posts reviewed by WIRED on Saturday came from accounts with blue check marks, meaning they pay X for its premium service and could be eligible to earn money based on how much engagement their posts generate, even if the content is false. While some posts with disinformation have a community note appended beneath them to correct the record, they remain up on the site, and it's unclear how many people viewed them before the notes appeared.


No surprise of course. When it comes to actual news, you have to go to great lengths and only look at very trusted sources for anything. In a crisis, like war, it's so permeated with propaganda that it's completely useless.
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Word To The Wise -- Digby (Original Post) erronis 9 hrs ago OP
YT & Digby for this PSA.. Cha 8 hrs ago #1
Important 3_Limes 8 hrs ago #2
It will get worse. Their way forward is now "do whatever it takes" to hold power. pat_k 8 hrs ago #3
Excellent earlier post by you. I wish I knew how to find these gems amidst the rest. erronis 8 hrs ago #4

pat_k

(12,949 posts)
3. It will get worse. Their way forward is now "do whatever it takes" to hold power.
Sat Feb 28, 2026, 08:50 PM
8 hrs ago

And the "whatever it takes" path includes (but is not limited to):

go-to-war

billions of dollars of corruptly & oligarch funded mid-term SuperPACs

mafia-like media and tech takeover

unending AI slop

unprecedented foreign active measures on his behalf

end free and fair elections


They are pulling out all the stops. And we've got to figure out how to up our game in defending and counter-attacking.

From Simon Rosenberg

In a democracy when a leader is unpopular, and their policies aren’t working, they course correct and do things are that popular and good for people. Trump looked at that option, and chose another - the go-to-war/billions of dollars of corruptly & oligarch funded mid-term SuperPACs/mafia-like media and tech takeover/unending AI slop/unprecedented foreign active measures on his behalf/end free and fair elections/the whatever it takes path.


More:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221057403

erronis

(23,424 posts)
4. Excellent earlier post by you. I wish I knew how to find these gems amidst the rest.
Sat Feb 28, 2026, 09:03 PM
8 hrs ago

Kudos (and following.)

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