At moments like these, when news is breaking fast and emotions are running hot, it's more important than ever that we behave responsibly. At
Markos Moulitsas Zúniga is the founder and head of Daily Kos – probably the first major liberal blog.
Soon after the Trump assassination attempt, a number of idiotic conspiracy theories sprang up in some fringe left corners of the internet. Markos editorialized about taking a hard line against such conspiracy theories.
At Daily Kos, that means all of us—staff and community members alike—must share only what we know to be true, as reported by credible sources. It also means that we reject false information or unfounded claims. This is a foundational policy for us, and one we have enforced rigorously for decades. Our Rules of the Road forbid spreading misinformation, disinformation, or conspiracy theories. The penalty for sharing conspiracy theories on Daily Kos is clear and serious: You will be banned. Daily Kos has always been and will always be an outpost of the reality-based community.
Being reality-based is a major thing which distinguishes us from MAGA zombies. People on the left who spread zany and unfounded conspiracy theories are intellectually no better than the QAnon Shaman. Many even use wording similar to QAnon wackos.
The Washington Post referred to fringe left conspiracy theories about the shooting as BlueAnon.
They claimed the blood on former president Donald Trump’s ear was from a theatrical gel pack; that the shooting was a “false flag,” perhaps coordinated by the Secret Service in collaboration with the Trump campaign; that the scene of a bloodied Trump raising his fist under an American flag was “#staged.” “When did the Secret Service start allowing the President under duress to tell them ‘to wait’, then stand up to be seen by the crowd fist-pumping?” one user posted on X. “Can you blame me for thinking this is fake?” The shooting threw into overdrive a phenomenon dubbed “BlueAnon” — a play on the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon — that refers to liberal conspiracy theories online. As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of BlueAnon conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is spreading well beyond the right. “The good-versus-evil paradigm of QAnon has really taken hold of the anti-Trump movement and you’re seeing two sides that feel like they are fighting a battle between good and evil,” said Mike Rothschild, author of “The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult and Conspiracy Theory of Everything.” “It’s coming from major leftist and liberal ‘resistance’ influencers who believe that Trump is so devious that he’d fake his own assassination attempt in order to help his campaign.”
Anybody posting conspiracy theories is an idiot and should be blocked.
Of course I'm NOT referring to satirical references meant to make a point.
For example: Fanatical pro-gun conspiracy nuts claim that victims of mass shootings are really "crisis actors". So taking a dig at those people by referring to Trump as a crisis actor is a way to make such people eat their words.
In his editorial, Markos re-posted this information sheet from NPR's On the Media program on how to treat breaking news – mass shootings in particular. So I'm re-re-posting it.
#6 is underrated. Local journalists know their own turf and are better able to sort out a situation than those who just helicopter in to cover an event and then leave.
Of course #9 is essential. Get confirmation from reputable sources before reposting something. Don't add to the morass of disinformation.
