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The real threat of real fake news

Talk about fake news!

The current scandal at Amazon, first reported by NBC News, is that a totally scurrilous book that makes such preposterous claims as Democrats eat babies has been pushed to the bestseller list.

QAnon is a strange pro-Trump conspiracy that sprouted among fringe right-wing elements on the Internet and seemingly has gone viral, infecting increasing numbers of Donald Trump’s supporters.

A book that exalts the conspiracy, “QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening” and its slogan “Where We Go One We Go All,” was Amazon’s bestselling book under the “censorship and politics” category, pushed there by Amazon’s logarithms. Such classics as “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Lord of the Flies” were being outsold by “QAnon.” Amazon is also pushing products that relate to it although now there is a box to “report incorrect product information.”

At the same time, another “fake news” story that refuses to go away is the false contention that vaccines cause autism. One horrific result, prevalent in southwestern Washington state, is that there are outbreaks of virulent diseases such as measles, once thought to have all but wiped out. At a congressional hearing, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., said the measles outbreak is highly worrisome and that a national campaign to tout the safety of vaccines is desperately needed.

Another “fake news” story, being spread by the White House, even after the failed summit with North Korea, is that North Korea is no longer pursuing nuclear weapons or rebuilding dismantled missiles launch sites that could propel a nuclear weapon toward cities as far away as Chicago. Despite 100 percent agreement by the U.S. intelligence agencies that North Korea is not giving up nuclear weapons, Trump insists North Korea is not testing nuclear weapons. He said, “Some people are saying photos show new missile launching sites and some people aren’t.” He said he trusts dictator Kim Jong Un.

Yet another “fake news” line being pushed by the Trump administration is that children taken from their parents seeking legal asylum in the U.S. are not being held in cages or sexually abused or mistreated in any way. Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of homeland security, falsely said under oath there are no cages and no parents are being deported without multiple opportunities to take their children with them. Her department made no effort for months to locate children for those deported parents or have decent records. At least three children have died under U.S. supervision.

And we have the non-witch hunts. It is not a witch hunt when more than 30 people have been indicted or convicted of criminal behavior by federal grand juries and judges. It is not a witch hunt when strong evidences of tax fraud, insurance fraud and illegal payments designed to thwart national elections are under investigation.

Trump says that manufacturing jobs are returning to the United States. Fake news. General Motors just shuttered a 6-million-square-foot plant that made the Cruze auto in Lordstown, Ohio, with 1,700 jobs lost and a devastating impact on small businesses and homeowners there.

People want to believe that things are getting better, that their president is not just a blowhard who has lied 9,000 times and is only interested in himself. But there’s danger in believing fake news.

The QAnon movement is another one of those nonsensical movements that take root with segments of the public every now and then, especially people who want to believe the worst about those who disagree with them.

This is the book blurb: “If you value the truth, you will want to learn about the QAnon movement and the battle that is being waged on your behalf to protect you and your children from abuse and enslavement. The war between Good and Evil is no longer merely symbolic. Evil is being, tried and brought to justice in federal courts and military tribunals today. Criminally corrupt government leaders, celebrities, religious leaders, media figures, and corporate heads will be tried and punished for crimes involving treason, human trafficking, ritual sacrifice and unspeakable perversions.”

We are becoming a nation that not only is rejecting its traditions and institutions but is credulous about things that make no sense. Shame on those who tout fake news and push ridiculous conspiracy theories to make money and scare people. Also, Democrats do not eat babies.

https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/03/08/real-threat-real-fake-news/3106498002/

Police investigating after school bus aide grabs MAGA hat off student's head

Police in Martin County, Fla., are investigating after a school bus aide grabbed one of President Trump's "Make America Great Again" hats off the head of a student.

Surveillance video from school bus heading to Hidden Oaks Middle School showed the altercation between the aide and 14-year-old Gunnar Johansson, NBC affiliate WPTV reported Friday.

Johansson told the outlet that students are allowed to wear a hat to school this week if they made a donation to March of Times.

He said he decided to wear one of the president’s signature campaign hats to “show my pride in Trump America" but was confronted by an aide on the school bus.

“Boy, if you don’t … that hat off this bus… take it off. Take that hat off… take that hat off…” the bus aide, who has not been identified, is heard saying in the footage obtained by the outlet.

Johansson said he was “really confused” as the bus aide continued to tell him to take the hat off and put it in his backpack.

“She, like, threatened me with a referral and threatened to turn the bus around. I said ‘write me up, I didn’t do anything wrong’, and then she yanked my hat off. It was crazy,” Johansson said.

Martin County Lt. Ryan Grimsdale told WPTV that they were reviewing the video and interviewing the witnesses on the bus amid the investigation.

“The crux of our investigation will be the interaction directly, physically with the child and how that panned out,” Grimsdale said.

Johansson was reportedly the only student who was told he couldn’t wear his hat on the bus. He texted his mother, Jackie Putt, from the bus.

“I immediately went to the school,” Putt told the outlet. “I needed to know what my son just went through and what she did to my son.

Putt said she believes the aide’s action are politically motivated so she filed a police report after learning she would not be able to see the video until after the school district’s investigation closed, according to WPTV.

“The district is aware of the family’s allegations. We’re taking it very seriously. We’re in the process of gathering all the facts right now,” said Frank Frangella, Director of Safety and Security for the Martin County School District.

The “MAGA” hat, a symbol of Trump’s campaign, has sparked controversy since his 2016 election.

An Oklahoma high school student was reportedly charged with assault and battery last week after knowing the MAGA hat off a younger student.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/433333-police-investigating-after-school-bus-aide-rips-maga-hat-off