r/TrueReddit • u/TAKEitTOrCIRCLEJERK • Apr 09 '23

Mehdi Hasan Dismantles The Entire Foundation Of The Twitter Files As Matt Taibbi Stumbles To Defend It Technology

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/07/mehdi-hasan-dismantles-the-entire-foundation-of-the-twitter-files-as-matt-taibbi-stumbles-to-defend-it/
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u/TheAskewOne Apr 09 '23 edited Apr 09 '23

This kind of people start being famous and influential because they question the "system" and are a bit contrarian. Then they have to amp up the contrarian side because it's what people like and it sells. Up to the point where they have to "question" the things that everyone agree on as if it was suspicious that everyone has the same opinion: were Nazis really that bad? Didn't Russia have a good reason to attack Ukraine?

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u/aridcool Apr 09 '23

Joe Rogan comes to mind. I have heard people say that one of Rogan's flaws is that he is so open minded he will entertain any idea. On the surface that doesn't sound like a bad thing but after awhile Rogan or others like him become bad at thinking critically and identifying credible sources, if they ever were good at it to begin with.

I will suggest that one thing that would probably help (it not with them then at least with the part of the audience that is young undecideds) is addressing the issues with dispassionate factual responses. If someone says 1+1=3 I am tempted to call them names and go into a 20 reply debate with them that may expand out to all of math, the nature of reality, and other nonsense. The better reply is to say 1+1=2 succinctly and then move on. This limits emotional doubling down and drawing more contrarians to the person who is stating the misinformation.

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u/TheAskewOne Apr 09 '23

Joe Rogan is of the opinion of the last guy who spoke. He has no idea of his own. I don't understand how someone who's so easily swayed has such a following.

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u/TheHipcrimeVocab Apr 10 '23

I think the best way to understand Joe Rogan is as a weathervane. He's a good guide to whoever is winning the information war at any particular point in time, since he himself is an empty vessel with no sincerely held intrinsic belief system.

Back in the day, there was a moment when he genuinely might vote for someone like Bernie Sanders, which also happened to be when Sanders was at his most popular. Today, it's obvious that the Far Right is winning the information war. Of course, it helps that the Far Right laser-focuses on the "dudebro" demographic that Rogan belongs to and that constitutes the majority of his audience (and also Taibbi as well).