Social media technology that gives us access to what people are thinking around the world allows us to see in real time the dangers of the unchecked spread of propaganda and lies, including the false claims about 2020 election fraud that undermined trust in our democracy and caused many to act out violently. Recency bias, in which we favor recent events over historic ones, may lead us to believe that the dangers of disinformation are new, but the story of Henry Ford, who mass produced hate as he mass produced the automobile, is an example of such danger from more than 100 years ago.
Ford, the iconic industrialist of American business and commerce, didn’t invent the automobile, but, through his innovative production reforms, became one of the wealthiest men in the world. My father worked in the auto industry in Detroit, and I remember frequent class field trips to the Henry Ford Museum and to Greenfield Village where Ford was always hailed as a hero. But his noxious ideas about Jews were villainous and reportedly an inspiration to Hitler, the world’s most notorious genocidal monster.
As Russia continues its unprovoked attack on a democratic Ukraine, it’s an occasion to remember that propaganda and lies that emerge in the United States can embolden dictators abroad. In this case, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s state-owned television have used clips of former President Donald Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and other Americans to build a case for their efforts and convince Russians of the justice of their despicable cause. Those clips include retired Army Col. Doug Macgregor telling Carlson, “What is happening now is the battle in eastern Ukraine is really almost over, all the Ukrainian troops there have been largely surrounded and cut off ... and if they don't surrender in next 24 hours, I suspect the Russians will ultimately annihilate them. The game is over."
I don't understand how Tucker Carlson is still on the air. Opinion is one thing. Outright disinformation, lying, aiding the information war of the enemy another. Even Fox News needs to see what a liability Carlson will be as this war intensifies and more people die on the back of his lies. If chemical weapons are deployed, he will have had a hand in this with his falsehoods about Bio-labs.