Lies strike like lightning in our current political disinformation age. The targets of these “disinfo” strikes can often seem random, but they flash with the brilliance of a lightning storm at dawn. Given the limits of American media, no truth-telling can keep pace or correct the record – even when the stakes are impossible to quantify.
Scholars and pundits alike have tried to wrestle with these phenomena amidst our current post-truth malaise. University of Michigan Law Professor, Barbara McQuade aptly details this moment as an “attack from within.” In On Disinformation, Lee McIntyre argues that we are wallowing in the consequences of at least 70 years of “strategic denialism.” But in an era where lies and half-truths spread with the same velocity as lightning, the recent controversy surrounding Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, serves as the latest case study on the catastrophic dangers of disinformation.
Dr. James B. Peterson
The urgent need for empathy centered on the citizens of Springfield, Ohio comes with a requisite requirement. Springfield is an existential emblem of our nation’s predicament in a presidential cycle where all things immigration are punted like a political football from one endzone to another – one town to another – replete with a discourse that often borders on the absurd. We are all somehow citizens of Springfield, USA. The town’s name, Springfield, carries a historical and symbolic weight that reverberates across the landscape of American political and social discourse. Understanding this symbolism provides a peak into the aperture through which we can better appreciate the implications of the recent disinformation campaign and reflect on our collective condition.
Although misinformation is a critical part of the debunked story that continues to accrue headlines, there is a crucial distinction between the ‘mis’ and the ‘dis’ when it comes to how we currently encounter information. Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information shared without harmful intent. The people who shared the story; those who laughed at the memes or reposted the original Facebook content. Many of these people may have been misinformed.
Disinformation is deliberately falsified information meant to deceive. The deliberate and/or calculated circulation of the false narrative about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, even after it has been repeatedly debunked is a maximum example of disinformation. It is crafted to exploit fears and sow the seeds of discord and anti-Black, anti-immigrant hatred. Senator Vance’s recent admission that he is willing to tell lies like this in order to feed the attention economy of a political campaign is an ugly low point in a bottomless reservoir of bad-faith political discourse. We all live in Springfield. And this recent episode of political disinformation exposes the pernicious impact of deliberate falsehoods, underscoring the imperative for all of us to critically evaluate the information we encounter – every day.
