Why conservatives are winning the internet

[applegrove]

Why conservatives are winning the internet

A new book explains why digital activism helps conservatives more than liberals.

By Sean Illing at Vox

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/3/18624687/conservatism-liberals-internet-activism-jen-schradie

"SNIP.....


Sean Illing

Why is that? Is there something inherent to conservatism that makes it more effective in the digital sphere? Or is the gap simply about resource disparities?

Jen Schradie

The simple answer is that conservatives are more likely to have more resources and to take advantage of that. The other is that they’re more likely to have hierarchical infrastructures that make it easier to engage the digital labor that’s needed to promote online activism. In other words, they tend to have more top-down organizations, and that’s just a more efficient way to distribute labor and get the message out.

In terms of the actual ideology itself, I do think there’s something about the nature of conservatism that makes it easier to promote online. Conservatives tend to focus on simple, clear messages around freedom in particular. The left tends to focus on this general idea of fairness.

Conservatives are generally monolithic in their attacks on, say, Obamacare. The left wants a diverse array of voices. The left tends to want to include a lot of different people and a lot of different issues, and the result is a more muddled message that is just harder to communicate.


......SNIP"

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. I didn't realize that conservatives are "winning the internet" now?

I thought that the internet had actually been more of a boon for us?

[applegrove]

2. The rich right wing take their tax cuts and fund Citizens' United groups and

other private groups to overwhelm the internet. I hope democrats are doing the same.

[KPN]

26. Yeah, it's pretty simple. And when the target is

lesser educated, cult prone so-called Christians and xenophobes, the message doesn’t need to be complex.

[saidsimplesimon]

3. I disagree.

and the result is a more muddled message that is just harder to communicate.

The message is clear for me. Organize during the primaries, get out the Democratic vote on primary and election day. Sure, there's lots of work to be done.

[Caliman73]

21. Disagree or not, there is truth to what the author is saying.

The conservative message is more about self, which appeals to people emotionally. Think of it this way, a typical conservative message is "The government is taking your hard earned money and giving it to people who don't want to work as hard as you do" That message evokes feelings of anger and resentment because "the government" is this outside entity who is encroaching on your financial freedom, and it evokes feelings that it is not "fair" that your money is being given to people who do not deserve it.

We know that 1. it isn't really true, or 2. if true, the money is actually being given to the wealthy who don't need it, but who want to have all the money. However, that knowledge is irrelevant because the emotional response is already activated and the people won't hear rational arguments about taxes and how we need to fund social programs and pay for things as a society.

We on the Democratic side do value nuance and the experiences of others. We do want people to have a voice, and we sometimes disagree on the details.

Conservatives message is simple. "What's in it for me?" that is the basic message.

The other thing is that they actually do have a funding structure that allows them to spread the message around.

While we may have a focus and an ability to understand the message of Democrats/Progressives/Liberals, the author is talking about what the average American hears, not what the politically motivated person hears.

[C_U_L8R]

4. "A lie gets halfway around the world before truth puts on its boots." - Churchill

And that's why Republicans love the Internet. They only win by lying.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Pretty sure Clemens said that first...

or at least repeated it before Churchill was born.

[C_U_L8R]

15. Wasn't sure about that. Thanks.

Google machine offered up both. Guess that proves the point.

[Celerity]

16. it was neither

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/07/13/truth/

[Wounded Bear]

17. Thus my insertion of the "repeated it first" in my comment...

[Celerity]

18. fair enough

[samnsara]

5. how can one tell?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. WTF? What does "winning the internet" mean?

[empedocles]

7. HATE is an effective motivator

[madinmaryland]

8. Apparently the authors of this article have not visited the Free republic web site.

It’s still stuck in 1996. So much for winning!

[procon]

9. They have spent decades building an infrastructure

with cooperating organizations willing to play the game to advance their various causes. From corporations, the financial section, religious groups, rightwing news, hate radio, and internet celebrities, the military, police and militias, gun nuts, grifters, Russian trolls, the super rich, red state politicians, white supremacists, to the diminishing patriarchal culture, they create an enormous and well organised presence on the internet.

What have the Dems got to counter this unchecked tidal wave of far right nationalism? Do they even think about planning a counter offensive?

[dustyscamp]

10. A lot of those things you mentioned is also influencing kids into becoming more RW

We need to start countering everything the Cons are trying to do or else the next and future elections could go bad for us

[procon]

14. Dems face an uphill slog.

Republicans start out with groups that have lots of money, and authoritarian control over their hundreds of thousands of like minded, subservient peeps. What to the Dems have? We lefty folk aren't given to the herd like mentality of conservatives, and we aren't so insecure that we fear the changing world around us. We aren't as likely to hate or promote violence, or be willing to lie, cheat and steal to win.

So how to you ever get our large and diverse group of adherents to organise around a common theme? I don't know. As many others have previously mentioned, it would be like herding cats... certainly entertaining, but not very productive.

[applegrove]

12. I think the dems are stepping up. They just can't say it.

[Wounded Bear]

13. The internet thrives on simple, bumper sticker memes...

which is something that conservatives can glom onto.

[SamuelTwain]

19. Not sure I agree, but interesting subject...

[VOX]

20. First off, they are NOT "conservatives" any more. They're right-wing radicals, or frankly, fascists.

Secondly, their “base” on the internet appears to consist largely of Deep South and Midwest out-of-work poor whites, who fall for every nibble of Russian clickbait dangled in front of them.

Which brings up the other part of their online base ...Russian trolls. You can spot ‘em in your sleep: pantloads of angry eagles, flags, etc. No indication of an actual, single-person, breathing presence.

The biggest reason that right-wing mouth-breathers congregate online: HATE, done anonymously. The worst, soul-killing hatred for anyone not white or Christian. It’s so lowdown, brutal and god-awful, it’s like a distilled essence of pure hate. These “people” thrive on rage, fear, and hate. It’s all they have. They care about NOTHING but “owning the libs” and spreading hated of women and POC. It’s their addiction, and they are hooked.

Check the user comments on Breitbart if ever in need of an efficacious emetic. And “winning these people over”??? It’d be easier to climb a plate glass window with greasy hands.

[Sparko55]

22. Not all that surprising - look at messaging - 2016 - I'm with Her vs. MAGA

Life long Dem, but never understand why Dem's fail (save Obama) to advance any sort of message people can get behind and support. GOP seems more adept at getting through with simple, concise, word sandwiches. Frank Luntz always seems to be able to hit the target and Dems keep looking for a message. Agree with comments on this thread that Dems more decentralized approach seeking inclusion of many voices waters down the message - and it appears to the average Joe to be all over the place.

It's happening again in this campaign season. Biden on Saturday at the HRC event in Columbus stating that LGBTQ Rights his #1 legislative priority. May play well in the room, as they say, but really Joe, you think that plays well, as they use to say in Peoria? And unfortunately Kamala Harris "For the People" sounds like some cheesy ambulance chasing lawyer ad here in SW Florida or Southern Wisconsin where I use to live. You just want to throw up your hands and lunch with "catchy" slogans like that.

Dems have been getting pummeled for 40 plus years on tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts which has been the winning GOP mantra, and haven't figured out the counter to that. Fritz tried in 1984 and lost in a landslide. You can't lead people until you have a plan, and objective, a goal, and can deliver. Kennedy said we'd be on the moon by the end of the 60's decade, and by golly, we were. Eisenhower laid out the notion of the Interstate roads system to connect the big country together, and although it took decades to complete, people saw things getting done - most for good, some not so much. Neither party has a vision for the future of the country. Big Ideas, Bold Ideas, and so they pitch and sell to self interest - tax cuts, get rich on your own, and piss on everyone else. Not really inspiring but all that's on offer. Maybe start with some big projects - yes infrastructure - and start with replacing failing bridges and roads in rural areas and then move on to the cities. Go for high speed rail, and go big, connecting the top 100 to 200 cities by population and you cover 35 of the states and most in between. It builds capacity, it builds technological skill, it delivers jobs, and spurs new business. And it delivers to the country. Make it a military imperative - as they did with the Interstate system - then even the GOP Dumbo's can go along with it. (Apologies to Dumbo).

So it's no surprise that a "conservative" message gets more hits on the internet. In a 5 and dime mindset of cutting through the clutter, sorry to say but MAGA seemed attractive to low information voters - and still does. Yup, they are being played and taken all the way to the cleaners and back for a rinse, wash, and repeat over and over, but they got the message. Just watched the Theresa Greenfield for Senate opening ad, and she was unapologetic in her support of Social Security and why. Straight forward on message and connected.

[John1956PA]

23. An hour ago, I responded on Fb to a false claim that Hillary won only 57 counties in 2016.

That particular lie is part of a wall of false statements which appear in a meme which is being bounced around Fb and other social media sites by certain right-wingers. In response to that lie, I provided links to articles by Snopes and the Associated Press which present the actual count (457) of the number of counties won by Hillary. The Fb poster who posted the meme claimed to still be unconvinced. I believe such right-wingers refuse to seek the truth, and, if confronted with the truth, ignore it willfully.

[pecosbob]

24. I disagree with the gist of the editorial

The reason that conservatism 'appears' to be winning the internet...in the past crackpot fantasies and conspiracy theories never took root in this country because once upon a time had a minimally credible force of jounalists that sometimes did their due diligence and called out lies and mistruths of the crazies. Now we have the internet which provides the perfect platform for spreading blatantly untrue propaganda and the corporate media joins in by acting as an echo chamber for the lies.

[Honeycombe8]

25. I think it's because the mass of conservative voters is more ignorant & will believe fake news more.

They are not as apt to catch a fake photoshopped picture, or care if they do. They have a negative message, and that's easier to spread. They are more uneducated, so less likely to spot that a conspiracy theory is so outrageous that it's likely false or doesn't jive with the person's character & history. And less likely to care.

Democrats are more likely to spot manipulation, faked photos, and conspiracy theories that are obviously false (as much as they would want them to be true). And more likely to care about spreading truth over lies. Not always. But generally. IMO.