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THREAD: A Lesson in Propaganda :
800,000 kids *were* "reported missing"... in 2012.
In 2019 it was 421,394. In 2018 it was 424,066.
So it's about 425,000 who are *reported* missing, not who necessarily "go missing."
Of those, roughly 94% are found within 72 hours.
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800,000 kids *were* "reported missing"... in 2012.
In 2019 it was 421,394. In 2018 it was 424,066.
So it's about 425,000 who are *reported* missing, not who necessarily "go missing."
Of those, roughly 94% are found within 72 hours.
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Better than 99% are returned home safely, regardless of when they are located.
As of 2013, the average number of missing children taken by strangers annually was 115.
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As of 2013, the average number of missing children taken by strangers annually was 115.
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Last year there were a total of 121 unresolved reports of missing children nationwide. And it's not that those 121 aren't horrible situations that deserve attention...
It's just not 800,000.
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It's just not 800,000.
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This meme, distributed as a gateway drug to the wonderful world of QAnon/Pizzagate/DemSatanists/Trump support, is predicated on a drastic misrepresentation.
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In this particular case, it is also being used to weaponize your own empathy by pinning you as a hypocrite because you 'care about one and not the other.'
That's a big part of how propaganda works, and I'm realizing a lot of people don't recognize that...
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That's a big part of how propaganda works, and I'm realizing a lot of people don't recognize that...
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It's easy to disregard the connection to masks. And to see through the flawed logic of the comparison.
But the basis of the argument - the visual comparison of the football stadium and the number 800,000... With no frame of reference to evaluate that number..
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But the basis of the argument - the visual comparison of the football stadium and the number 800,000... With no frame of reference to evaluate that number..
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..and being that it seems to support the point (covid is less dangerous than kidnapping) and not actually *be* the point, it's easy to just assume that part is true.
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By giving you a small obvious thing to throw away (mask comparison), it allows you to feel as if you've identified the manipulation, and move on.
But doing so enables you to not question the statistic you've been given.
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But doing so enables you to not question the statistic you've been given.
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That's how you get primed with a fake fact, and you begin forming opinions about a subject based on flawed information.
And that's the real point of propaganda in the first place. So when you hear people say that everyone is susceptible to propaganda...
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And that's the real point of propaganda in the first place. So when you hear people say that everyone is susceptible to propaganda...
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..and disinformation, this is what they mean. And it's 100% true.
They're not saying you're stupid or you can't see through it. It's that it's actually designed for you to think you see through it, while it actually delivers something you forget to question.
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They're not saying you're stupid or you can't see through it. It's that it's actually designed for you to think you see through it, while it actually delivers something you forget to question.
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Like a magician who lets you think you've figured out one simple trick while he's setting up a much bigger one.
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#propaganda #missingchildren #childtrafficing #coronavirus #Masks
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#propaganda #missingchildren #childtrafficing #coronavirus #Masks
