Conservatives try to commandeer 'the big lie'

[DonViejo]

Aaron Blake 25 mins ago

In the weeks after the 2016 election, we were all trying to explain how Donald Trump had, somehow, narrowly won the presidency. And one phrase that had cropped up just before the election was suddenly on the lips of many analysts: “fake news.” Deliberate election disinformation from dubious websites had infected such social media platforms as Facebook, leading many people to believe utterly false things like that the pope had endorsed Trump or that Hillary Clinton had sold weapons to the Islamic State militant group. Some studies even suggested it might have swung the election.

Given that last narrative, Trump and his supporters quickly sprung into action. They commandeered the term, twisting it to refer to something else entirely. Suddenly, it was used to describe media reports and media figures with whom they disagreed. Thanks to Trump’s knack for branding and repetition, this latter meaning became more pervasive. A pithy phrase used to describe a legitimate media phenomenon that risked undermining Trump suddenly became an even pithier political cudgel for him to use against his foes.

Today, a similar effort is afoot to re-purpose another phrase that has become a liability for Trump’s party: the “big lie.”

The decisions by Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines to push back on Georgia’s new voting law has united much of the conservative movement — Trump supporters and critics alike — against them. The right has accused the left and the media of overstating the suppressive elements of Georgia’s law and these corporations of swallowing the claims whole.

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/conservatives-try-to-commandeer-e2-80-98the-big-lie-e2-80-99/ar-BB1fk5JD

[andym]

1. Really the Right Wing news empire of Fox News, Trump and fellow travelers

knows how to use propaganda-- a combination of American marketing know (study how condensed milk's taste was made a plus) and emulating how the Nazis and Soviets manipulated their citizenry. It's as if Orwell's "1984" is a handbook for them. Very dangerous times for the USA, because propaganda is their best way to hold on to power.