this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024
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Storms Helene and Milton have triggered rise of misinformation stoked by Trump and fellow Republicans

Meteorologists tracking the advance of Hurricane Milton have been targeted by a deluge of conspiracy theories that they were controlling the weather, abuse and even death threats, amid what they say is an unprecedented surge in misinformation as two major hurricanes have hit the US.

A series of falsehoods and threats have swirled in the two weeks since Hurricane Helene tore through six states causing several hundred deaths, followed by Milton crashing into Florida on Wednesday.

The extent of the misinformation, which has been stoked by Donald Trump and his followers, has been such that it has stymied the ability to help hurricane-hit communities, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).


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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Is... is american dream is being as dumb as possible?

No healthcare, no welfare, no higher education. But I thought you had at least schools there.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago

But I thought you had at least schools there.

Oh between vouchers and property taxes funding schools...we're uh, we're working on not.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I work at a meteorological institute in Europe and we also get phonecalls from angry imbeciles insulting the meteorologists.

My passion for science and curiosity peaked when I got the job. Now I realise everything is a pipe dream if we do not revolutionise education into something that makes more decent philosophers of us all.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The system, no matter how good its education, will never be able to turn everybody into "decent philosophers". Some people just aren't smart, no matter how good education might get. Some just are gullible. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be as well-educated as they can possibly be, but people and their capabilities just are a spectrum and always will be. And even if today's dumbest people will be as smart as today's "decent philosophers" by tomorrow, today's "decent philosophers" will still outsmart them, which is an issue if there are manipulative people with hidden agendas among them. Which they will be.

This isn't an education issue, it's an information and misinformation issue. Giving anybody, including malicious actors, their own, personal channel to spread whatever information they want, regardless of its quality or truth, has turned out to be a terrible idea. The Internet kind of comes with the idea to give everyone access to all of humanity's information without taking into account that there should be a certain responsibility attached to the question of the creation of that information or that there should be a separation of concerns between people who spread information and people who have other interests than just informing people in the best way possible.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Fortunately I completely disagree.

“Imagine going back to the year 1600. Even then, Western Europe was one of the more educated parts of the planet, but back then about 20% of the population could read and write. And I suspect if you went back there and you asked someone who was capable of reading and writing—say a member of the clergy—and you said: “What percentage of the population is even capable of it?” They might have said: “If you have an incredible education system, maybe 50%.” You fast-forward 400 years to today, and we know that that prediction would have been wildly pessimistic; that nearly 100% of the population can be literate. But what similar blinders we have on today? If I were to ask you: “What percentage of the population is capable of understanding quantum physics? Or what percentage of the population is capable of contributing to medical research?” You might say maybe 5 or 10%, or with a really good education system maybe 15 or 20%. But what if the answer is a 100%? What could that mean for the rate at which human society could progress? What would that mean for the human condition? But that is just one aspect of the types of blinders we have on today, that in 400 years will hopefully seem silly.” —Salman Khan, Harvard Class Day 2014

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I love it.

Yeah, that's a much better point of view. I'll just make that my own. Ignore what I said before.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Wow, unexpected response. Have an excellent day fellow “philosopher” ;)

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm a Republican who Does Her Own Research and it's OBVIOUS that these WEATHERMEN are causing our Problems and NOT the Billionaires who gave our Supreme Court Justices MILLIONS in Gifts and Vacations! All this Pollution IS LEGAL!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago

Good news! The damage is reversible, we just need to lower carbon emissions to pre industrial levels! We can band together to defeat the evil weather man!

[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

I kept trying to articulate my reaction but this is about the best it gets. Oh humanity.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And thank God for that. The only things that live forever are cancers.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

I crave the afterlife

[–] [email protected] 52 points 4 days ago (4 children)

This is absolutely baffling being from practically any other English speaking country.

I mean, we have our share of crazies, but they're a tiny proportion.

It's one thing to doubt the well established climate science (very frustrating), but it's another thing to actually believe humans can precisely control the weather.

It's extremely troubling knowing these people exist, and can vote in the most powerful country on earth.

😬

Something, something if you believe in things without evidence (religion) it's not actually that surprising. And we (Australia) are much less religious than you. Though, this is certainly my bias talking.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

I mean cloud seeding has been happening for a very long time. I first heard of it as a story about a dude in the '50's pissed the ski season sucked flew up and just dumped dry ice at a lower-ish Altitude somewhere up in the ADKs and sure as shit it works... under very specific conditions and nothing like how the mad skier did it.

It's honestly not that baffling of a jump from cloud seeding to hurricane inseminating when you put it side by side with shit like flat earthers, Christianity, Tom Brady winning 7 rings deflating footballs, aliens building ancient architecture, the music city miracle wasn't a forward lateral, Brett Hull's skate wasnt in the goal crease for the 99 Stanley Cup winning goal, government using vaccines to drug the public rather than just putting drugs in toilet paper for 1/1billionth the cost and 100% distribution efficiency... etc. (Totally fucked myself by throwing a blanket over all of Christianity instead of itemizing shit like eating meat on Friday and humans have been around for only 2000 years lol)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

we have our share of crazies, but they're a tiny proportion.

Canada shambles into chat, points depressingly at Pierre “PeePee” Polivere and our CPC and PPC parties, then walks back out shaking it’s head

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Oh I'm not saying they're not loud, or don't exist (I can only speak directly on my perceptions in Australia though). Additionally, there are also a much larger group of people who I think are greedy, or mislead (in my opinion), but the straight up conspiracy theorist crazies?

I think it's not a stretch to say that's more mainstream in the USA, and I cannot pinpoint an obvious reason at a cursory look. Even if the education system is as bad as claimed, surely, the God fearing wouldn't believe the democrats can control the wrath of said god.

But yeah, things sure are getting wild in the rest of the anglosphere too haha, so touche

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Even being in the US, it is just as baffling, yet it is also somehow completely believable because some of us get to see it up close.

It’s insane knee-jerk team sports by people who tend to not get affected by certain social issues.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 days ago (1 children)

This is relatively unique to the US because there IS a conspiracy. And it's orchestrated by an unorganized, disconnected cabal of wealthy elite... conservatives, who have for decades advanced a remarkable campaign of anti-intellectualism. The noted scholar Donald J. Trump eloquently described their aims when he spoke about how they "love the uneducated."

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 days ago

The Heritage Foundation is anything but unorganized.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 4 days ago

Conspiracies?! Sounds like we're over the target.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If Milton had stayed Cat 5, this could have been a self-solving problem.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Except not all the idiots lived in the path of Milton, or even where hurricanes go at all. I can't explain why the presence of hurricanes has become yet another idiotic political issue, but the MAGA morons are latching on to it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

If you know that hurricanes come from warm waters and climate change has been making the water warmer, it makes sense why we've had back to back dangerous hurricanes. Climate change is completely false in MAGA world, but the amount and intensity of hurricanes has been increasing. So in MAGA world they need to answer why and they need to fill the climate change void. Since they are hitting red states in an election year, must be the Democrats controlling them.

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