Propagandists gonna propagandize by @BloggersRUs

Propagandists gonna propagandize

by Tom Sullivan

The acting president's defensive line may not be imposing, but its members are consistent. When it is convenient. The GOP's propaganda offensive against the White House's own admissions in the Ukraine affair centers on the fact the whistleblower complaint is built on secondhand information. Hearsay, they charge. But corroborated by the Ukraine call summary the White House itself released of Donald Trump's July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump wanted Zelensky to concoct hearsay he could use against an American political rival.

Whistleblower complaint: Trump pressured President Zelensky to "initiate or continue an investigation into the activities of former Vice President Joseph Biden and his son, Hunter Biden."

White House call summary [Trump]: "There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."

Whistleblower complaint: Trump pressured President Zelensky to "assist in purportedly uncovering that allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election originated in Ukraine, with a specific request that the Ukrainian leader locate and turn over servers used by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and examined by the U.S. cyber security firm Crowdstrike ..."

White House call summary [Trump]: "I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it ... I would like to have the Attorney General call you or one of your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it."

Whistleblower complaint: Trump pressured President Zelensky to "meet or speak with two people the president named explicitly as his personal envoys on these matters, Mr. Giuliani and Attorney General Barr to whom the President referred multiple times in tandem."

White House call summary [Trump]: "Giuliani is a highly respected man…and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General."

"I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it."

"I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to call."

Whistleblower complaint: "...the transcript was loaded into a separate electronic system that is otherwise used to store and handle classified information of an especially sensitive nature. One White House official described this as an abuse of this electronic system because the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective."

CNN: The White House acknowledged Friday that administration officials directed a now-infamous Ukraine call transcript be filed in a highly classified system, confirming allegations contained in a whistleblower complaint that have roiled Washington.

Those are the core allegations, plus this exchange from the White House's call summary. Trump had twice reminded Zelensky that the U.S. had been "very very good to Ukraine." But the relationship had not been reciprocal, Trump noted (emphasis added):

Zelensky: I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

Trump: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine...
Nice country you got there. Be a shame if you couldn't defend it. Trump suspended $400 million in approved aid to Ukraine at least a week before the call.

These are the documents in evidence. Trump describes the whistleblower's complaint "completely different and at odds from my actual conversation" and "totally inaccurate and fraudulent." Reading comprehension is not his strong suit. Or perhaps he simply has lost all grip on reality. The second appears even more likely than before.

This information Trump surrogates claim is "hearsay."

Perhaps, but corroborated hearsay, yes?

Now comes the flood of reality-bending propaganda from Team Trump, led by the man-child himself.

The problem is the media's reflex to put the propagandists on the air or in print. The media becomes a vector for spreading lies the Trumpers want spread.

Born and raised in the former Soviet Union, Gary Kasparov knows something about being propagandized. He warns that even refuting the bullshit reinforces it. (See George Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant.")

As you watch Trump’s defenders lie, deflect, and distract today and in the coming weeks, remember that they don’t care about being caught in obvious lies. Calling bullshit still means you’re talking about the bullshit, not the facts.

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) September 29, 2019

Greg Sargent echoes that warning at the Washington Post:

Once again, a major news organization's social media feed injects unadulterated lies into the dialog.

This *rewards* those who employ *deliberate* disinformation. It helps them spread confusion.

My book has a chapter on this epic institutional failure: https://t.co/kf10oCq4SW https://t.co/dfHA2OUgmF

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 30, 2019

Disinformation is like chaff military aircraft deploy to thwart an enemy missile's targeting system. Throw enough into the air and the homing missile may lose its target lock. Trump's defenders will spew a lot of it in the coming weeks and months.

Update: I stated $400 billion in aid in the first pass of this post. It is $400 million. (h/t JJ)