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Meet Vivian. Vivian peddles myths. #ableg https://twitter.com/FairQuestions/status/1302613545859735552
The myths that Vivian peddles are the ones that people *want* to believe. So they do. This is very well documented in psychology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
In this particular example, the federal Liberals funded a program to help the conventional oil & gas industry in Alberta deal with a major liability in tough times. That fact doesn't *sound* true to "The Base". It is cognitively dissonant.
This cognitive dissonance sits like an unscratched itch until someone deals with it. Vivian is happy to oblige with truthiness. Truthy conspiracies are how The Base scratches cognitive dissonance itches.
"The feds act like they're helping Alberta O&G. But really, they're paying Quebecers." That *sounds* truer to The Base.
"These Quebecers are the ones that those Liberals already helped in some other scandalous way I heard something about." That sounds even truer.
Of course, the truthy conspiracy theory is untrue on the face of it. The feds aren't managing the programs they funded—they're administered in Alberta. And trust me: you can't hide 700 Quebecers in rural Alberta.
But people will believe anything when they want to. Satire knows this. @CBCThisIsThat proved it repeatedly. The stories people bought into were the ones people *want* to believe.
E.g.: Sadly, Central Canadians *wanted* to believe that Calgarians grilled all the marine life when they closed their aquarium. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2258967899
But this is not comedy. Vivian is not joking. She is fomenting "western" alienation and discontent. She is pounding on a wedge between one group of people in the region and the rest.
To the Alberta government's credit, Minister @sonyasavage corrected the record, even though the insinuation wasn't directed at her government, but at the feds. Of course, she is the minister (and this is the level of government) actually responsible for the programs.
But Vivian's tweet continues to rack up retweets and likes nonetheless—continuing to perpetuate a truthy lie, doing the exact job it was intended to do. And most of The Base will be none the wiser. (Which is really saying something).
Meanwhile, an earlier truthy conspiracy theory from Vivian continues to draw on Alberta public funding, including a recent extension and budget increase. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/environmentalist-foreign-funding-inquiry-given-another-4-months-and-1m-to-finish-report-1.5627799
Of course, this one is equally untrue. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/10/03/analysis/data-based-dismantling-jason-kenneys-foreign-funding-conspiracy-theory
But gosh darn-it, it feels soooooo right to The Base. So, we're all paying to help Vivian peddle it.
It's really, REALLY time that everyone stops listening to Vivian. Stop encouraging Vivian. And definitely stop paying to make Vivian's fantasies materialize.
Whoops, receipt on the Minister Savage refutal: https://twitter.com/sonyasavage/status/1302659857539952640?s=20
Props to @misknit for pointing out Minister Savage's subtle nod to the truthiness of this conspiracy theory: "It makes for interesting conversation."
