We Lost the Battle for the Republican Party’s Soul Long Ago

[KUTradition]

Lost their minds, too.

jfc

[jfish26]

It sure does read, fairly intuitively, as a map of who doesn’t believe climate change is real and is entering the FO stage.

[Overlander]

I imagine a map of average education levels, overlaid on this map would have little effect

[Sparko]

It is a good thing those red states support mail in voting! Wait. . .

[jfish26]

It is a good thing those red states support mail in voting! Wait. . .

But what’s going to happen is that Asheville will be rehabbed first.

Being a (relative) D stronghold, the accusations will be that the Harris Regime rehabbed Asheville first to interfere in the election.

When in reality, Asheville will be rehabbed first because that’s where people are concentrated.

It remains highly inconvenient for the Rs that their policies are unpopular.

[KUTradition]

all those red states looking for gov’t handouts

[japhy]

THEY have all of the cool futuristic technology!

When do WE get our hands on some of that shit?

[jfish26]

all those red states looking for gov’t handouts

The trumped-up fury over the $750 cash payment is a giant onion of stupid. Layer after layer.

[japhy]

The stupid multiplies so fast these days.

Multiple pro-Trump influencers, including the self-described "investigative journalist" Laura Loomer, were fooled by an AI-generated image designed to depict post-Hurricane Helene aftermath.

The image in question features a young girl sitting on a canoe in the rain, clutching a tiny puppy as tears fall from her fear-stricken eyes. A reverse image search for the photo reveals that the image started circulating on right-wing corners of the internet on Wednesday afternoon, but picked up steam later that evening when conservative writer and former Air Force pilot Robert "Buzz" Patterson shared it to X-formerly-Twitter with the caption "our government has failed us again."

Loomer soon shared Patterson's post, writing "so sad" in the caption. Which it would be — if it weren't an obviously AI-generated fake.

The version of the "photo" that Patterson and Loomer both shared is cropped. But certain artifacts in the cropped version are immediately suspect, particularly the young girl's uncannily smoothed features and distorted background figures. And the original photo, as shared to X yesterday bears even more telling signs of AI use, such as the girl's oddly-shaped and overly smooth fingers.

Neither commentator hinted that the image could be an AI-generated fake, and instead shared it as if it were real proof of a governmental failure to aid Americans in Hurricane-devastated regions of Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

The incident highlights how ubiquitous AI-generated slop has become online and how it's already being used to politicize and radicalize the public — sometimes intentionally, and sometimes unwittingly by gullible partisan pundits — in a fractured information ecosystem.

[jfish26]

What about the one with Trump in waders?

We’re really in trouble when these loons realize that only the dumb idiots cheat with 98s. The smart idiots cheat with 81s.

[twocoach]

The stupid multiplies so fast these days.

Multiple pro-Trump influencers, including the self-described "investigative journalist" Laura Loomer, were fooled by an AI-generated image designed to depict post-Hurricane Helene aftermath.

The image in question features a young girl sitting on a canoe in the rain, clutching a tiny puppy as tears fall from her fear-stricken eyes. A reverse image search for the photo reveals that the image started circulating on right-wing corners of the internet on Wednesday afternoon, but picked up steam later that evening when conservative writer and former Air Force pilot Robert "Buzz" Patterson shared it to X-formerly-Twitter with the caption "our government has failed us again."

Loomer soon shared Patterson's post, writing "so sad" in the caption. Which it would be — if it weren't an obviously AI-generated fake.

The version of the "photo" that Patterson and Loomer both shared is cropped. But certain artifacts in the cropped version are immediately suspect, particularly the young girl's uncannily smoothed features and distorted background figures. And the original photo, as shared to X yesterday bears even more telling signs of AI use, such as the girl's oddly-shaped and overly smooth fingers.

Neither commentator hinted that the image could be an AI-generated fake, and instead shared it as if it were real proof of a governmental failure to aid Americans in Hurricane-devastated regions of Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

The incident highlights how ubiquitous AI-generated slop has become online and how it's already being used to politicize and radicalize the public — sometimes intentionally, and sometimes unwittingly by gullible partisan pundits — in a fractured information ecosystem.

Any photo of Trump where he is wearing something other than a wrinkled, ill-fit navy suit with obvious diapers on underneath or a shmedium sized white golf polo with obvious diapers under his pants is a fake. There is zero chance in hell that Donald Trump would touch flood water, let alone physically help someone off camera.

[jfish26]

I’m sorry, you clearly misspelled “perfectly-pressed, expertly-tailored navy suit, many people are saying the best suit”

[japhy]

The lies just keep piling up. And the rubes quickly spread them.

The claim: Former Trump supporters in Harris ad are actually Democratic actors

An Oct. 2 Instagram post shows a Sky News anchor reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris released a campaign ad featuring two Democratic actors."Harris / Walz Campaign BUSTED for using two paid actors to pretend they were former Pennsylvania Farmers & Trump Voters who switched to Kamala," reads text within the post, which was originally shared on X, formerly Twitter. "Turns out the two were not only actors but democrat donors for years."

The Instagram post garnered more than 600 likes in a day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X.

Our rating: False

The couple in Harris' ad debunked the claim. They said they are farmers and lifelong Republicans who previously voted for former President Donald Trump, not Democratic actors. Sky News issued a correction on the broadcast before the Instagram post was made.

A campaign ad for Harris sparked criticism after her team shared it on YouTube on Sept. 24. The ad features a Pennsylvania couple named Robert Lange and Kristina Chadwick Lange, who say they previously voted for Trump but are now switching to Harris because of the former president's divisiveness.

Hours later, an X user shared a post claiming the two are actors with a history of donating to Democratic causes. The post, which was viewed more than two million times in less than two weeks, includes screenshots of donations from the nonprofit campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets. The pictures show donations made by people with the same names as the Pennsylvania couple.

After the X post was shared, Sky News reported the claim in a live broadcast.

But Chadwick Lange told USA TODAY the claim is not true and is based on "very poor research skills."

"The claims that we're Democrats, that we're paid actors and that we have contributed to Democratic campaigns are all lies," Chadwick Lange said. "Bob once donated to the Tom Ridge campaign for Pennsylvania governor in the 1990s and I never made a single political donation to any party."

She said the two are still lifelong Republicans but "cannot get behind Trump in this election."

The couple, who own a farm in Willistown, Pennsylvania, helped produce a small 2022 horror film called "Hayride to Hell," but they are not professional actors. The movie's website says the film was shot on the couple's farm and the screenplay was written by the two, but they are not listed as actors. They told Philadelphia outlet Savvy Main Line they had "very small, non-speaking roles as monsters" in the film. Lange is chair of the Willistown Township's board of supervisors and has long been listed by the Willistown-Malvern Republican Committee as one of the party's local elected officials.Lange told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, while Chadwick Lange said she voted for the former president in 2016 and chose not to vote for Trump or President Joe Biden in the next election.

Sky News took down its broadcast and issued a correction on Oct. 1, the day before the Instagram post was shared.

"During a discussion about a Kamala Harris campaign video on the program on Sept. 26, the people featured in the campaign ad were described as actors with a history of donating to the Democrats," the correction reads. "In light of additional information which we have been made aware of, we correct the record that the people involved are not actors and do not appear to be Democrat donors."

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The X user couldn't be contacted.

[KUTradition]

The lies just keep piling up. And the rubes quickly spread them.

The claim: Former Trump supporters in Harris ad are actually Democratic actors

An Oct. 2 Instagram post shows a Sky News anchor reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris released a campaign ad featuring two Democratic actors."Harris / Walz Campaign BUSTED for using two paid actors to pretend they were former Pennsylvania Farmers & Trump Voters who switched to Kamala," reads text within the post, which was originally shared on X, formerly Twitter. "Turns out the two were not only actors but democrat donors for years."

The Instagram post garnered more than 600 likes in a day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X.

Our rating: False

The couple in Harris' ad debunked the claim. They said they are farmers and lifelong Republicans who previously voted for former President Donald Trump, not Democratic actors. Sky News issued a correction on the broadcast before the Instagram post was made.

A campaign ad for Harris sparked criticism after her team shared it on YouTube on Sept. 24. The ad features a Pennsylvania couple named Robert Lange and Kristina Chadwick Lange, who say they previously voted for Trump but are now switching to Harris because of the former president's divisiveness.

Hours later, an X user shared a post claiming the two are actors with a history of donating to Democratic causes. The post, which was viewed more than two million times in less than two weeks, includes screenshots of donations from the nonprofit campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets. The pictures show donations made by people with the same names as the Pennsylvania couple.

After the X post was shared, Sky News reported the claim in a live broadcast.

But Chadwick Lange told USA TODAY the claim is not true and is based on "very poor research skills."

"The claims that we're Democrats, that we're paid actors and that we have contributed to Democratic campaigns are all lies," Chadwick Lange said. "Bob once donated to the Tom Ridge campaign for Pennsylvania governor in the 1990s and I never made a single political donation to any party."

She said the two are still lifelong Republicans but "cannot get behind Trump in this election."

The couple, who own a farm in Willistown, Pennsylvania, helped produce a small 2022 horror film called "Hayride to Hell," but they are not professional actors. The movie's website says the film was shot on the couple's farm and the screenplay was written by the two, but they are not listed as actors. They told Philadelphia outlet Savvy Main Line they had "very small, non-speaking roles as monsters" in the film. Lange is chair of the Willistown Township's board of supervisors and has long been listed by the Willistown-Malvern Republican Committee as one of the party's local elected officials.Lange told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, while Chadwick Lange said she voted for the former president in 2016 and chose not to vote for Trump or President Joe Biden in the next election.

Sky News took down its broadcast and issued a correction on Oct. 1, the day before the Instagram post was shared.

"During a discussion about a Kamala Harris campaign video on the program on Sept. 26, the people featured in the campaign ad were described as actors with a history of donating to the Democrats," the correction reads. "In light of additional information which we have been made aware of, we correct the record that the people involved are not actors and do not appear to be Democrat donors."

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The X user couldn't be contacted.

wait, didn’t randi run here spouting some such nonsense?

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

The lies just keep piling up. And the rubes quickly spread them.

The claim: Former Trump supporters in Harris ad are actually Democratic actors

An Oct. 2 Instagram post shows a Sky News anchor reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris released a campaign ad featuring two Democratic actors."Harris / Walz Campaign BUSTED for using two paid actors to pretend they were former Pennsylvania Farmers & Trump Voters who switched to Kamala," reads text within the post, which was originally shared on X, formerly Twitter. "Turns out the two were not only actors but democrat donors for years."

The Instagram post garnered more than 600 likes in a day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X.

Our rating: False

The couple in Harris' ad debunked the claim. They said they are farmers and lifelong Republicans who previously voted for former President Donald Trump, not Democratic actors. Sky News issued a correction on the broadcast before the Instagram post was made.

A campaign ad for Harris sparked criticism after her team shared it on YouTube on Sept. 24. The ad features a Pennsylvania couple named Robert Lange and Kristina Chadwick Lange, who say they previously voted for Trump but are now switching to Harris because of the former president's divisiveness.

Hours later, an X user shared a post claiming the two are actors with a history of donating to Democratic causes. The post, which was viewed more than two million times in less than two weeks, includes screenshots of donations from the nonprofit campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets. The pictures show donations made by people with the same names as the Pennsylvania couple.

After the X post was shared, Sky News reported the claim in a live broadcast.

But Chadwick Lange told USA TODAY the claim is not true and is based on "very poor research skills."

"The claims that we're Democrats, that we're paid actors and that we have contributed to Democratic campaigns are all lies," Chadwick Lange said. "Bob once donated to the Tom Ridge campaign for Pennsylvania governor in the 1990s and I never made a single political donation to any party."

She said the two are still lifelong Republicans but "cannot get behind Trump in this election."

The couple, who own a farm in Willistown, Pennsylvania, helped produce a small 2022 horror film called "Hayride to Hell," but they are not professional actors. The movie's website says the film was shot on the couple's farm and the screenplay was written by the two, but they are not listed as actors. They told Philadelphia outlet Savvy Main Line they had "very small, non-speaking roles as monsters" in the film. Lange is chair of the Willistown Township's board of supervisors and has long been listed by the Willistown-Malvern Republican Committee as one of the party's local elected officials.Lange told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, while Chadwick Lange said she voted for the former president in 2016 and chose not to vote for Trump or President Joe Biden in the next election.

Sky News took down its broadcast and issued a correction on Oct. 1, the day before the Instagram post was shared.

"During a discussion about a Kamala Harris campaign video on the program on Sept. 26, the people featured in the campaign ad were described as actors with a history of donating to the Democrats," the correction reads. "In light of additional information which we have been made aware of, we correct the record that the people involved are not actors and do not appear to be Democrat donors."

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The X user couldn't be contacted.

wait, didn’t randi run here spouting some such nonsense?

Yes, and this is what upsets me...
You guys read what randy posted. As soon as I read what randy posted I had my doubts. All it took for me to prove to myself that was a highly embellished crock of shit was a little bit of diligence and doing some research. Then I posted in response to randy - that he is an ignorant fuck and what he posted wasn't true.
Now here we are discussing it again. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it's a bit troubling to me.
Why does our society consist of so many people who allow themselves to be so easily manipulated by BULLSHIT from sources they know nothing about? Why do people believe things that aren't true and don't believe things that are true?
I've spent a about 10-15 seconds are various times considering posting on social media under a name such as Proven Factual News and then posting both - fake news stories that I feel most people would believe are true, and real news stories that I feel most people would think are fake, just to see/read the reactions.

[KUTradition]

The lies just keep piling up. And the rubes quickly spread them.

wait, didn’t randi run here spouting some such nonsense?

Yes, and this is what upsets me...
You guys read what randy posted. As soon as I read what randy posted I had my doubts. All it took for me to prove to myself that was a highly embellished crock of shit was a little bit of diligence and doing some research. Then I posted in response to randy - that he is an ignorant fuck and what he posted wasn't true.
Now here we are discussing it again. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it's a bit troubling to me.
Why does our society consist of so many people who allow themselves to be so easily manipulated by BULLSHIT from sources they know nothing about?

Why do people believe things that aren't true and don't believe things that are true?

short answer: laziness

longer answer: probably some combination of the need to feel special, and intentionally or not, gravitating to sources of information that confirm and affirm preconceived biases. imo, social media has exacerbated the underlying susceptibility so many people have by both allowing idiots (ill-informed if not just downright bad actors) to shout bullshit from the rooftops, as well as giving anyone with the slightest curiosity the ability to seek out such people (and information) with relative ease. it’s now easier than ever to have one’s biases illegitimately confirmed

a bunch of really shitty information at the tip of your fingers

[jfish26]

wait, didn’t randi run here spouting some such nonsense?

Yes, and this is what upsets me...
You guys read what randy posted. As soon as I read what randy posted I had my doubts. All it took for me to prove to myself that was a highly embellished crock of shit was a little bit of diligence and doing some research. Then I posted in response to randy - that he is an ignorant fuck and what he posted wasn't true.
Now here we are discussing it again. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it's a bit troubling to me.
Why does our society consist of so many people who allow themselves to be so easily manipulated by BULLSHIT from sources they know nothing about?

Why do people believe things that aren't true and don't believe things that are true?

short answer: laziness

longer answer: probably some combination of the need to feel special, and intentionally or not, gravitating to sources of information that confirm and affirm preconceived biases. imo, social media has exacerbated the underlying susceptibility so many people have by both allowing idiots (ill-informed if not just downright bad actors) to shout bullshit from the rooftops, as well as giving anyone with the slightest curiosity the ability to seek out such people (and information) with relative ease. it’s now easier than ever to have one’s biases illegitimately confirmed

a bunch of really shitty information at the tip of your fingers

I suspect the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all (or even -most).

I have in mind a two-ended line of progression (there’s a simpler and frankly better single word, but it’s associated with things the Rs mock and I won’t use it because it’s not my intention by that word to mock them OR the people mocked by them).

And I think the line roughly follows the gradually-shifting balance of leader and follower.

[KUTradition]

I suspect the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all (or even -most).

for certain

[jfish26]

I suspect the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all (or even -most).

for certain

I do think it’s notable that the lies this time around are not destabilizingly subtle. It’s not eroding reality bit by bit through gaslighting.

It’s all just these neon, chunky, noisy, obvious non-truths.

Amazing what happens when you find out that 1/3 of the country will believe the lie that 2020 was stolen.

[Sparko]

I saw this today: Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

Wilhoit's Law.