Should we include left-wing conspiracy theories too? What about tankies?
Should we include left-wing conspiracy theories too? What about tankies?
I registered this community as a Lemmy backup for Reddit communities like /r/qult_headquarters and /r/qanoncasualties as well as /r/againsthatesubreddits. Recently I stumbled upon a thread that indicated that the original Lemmy developers were denying the Uighur genocide, which to me is just as dangerous as all of the right wing propaganda. I'd like to include antivaxxers and some of the tankier elements here as they all stem from an authoritarian mindset, but I'm not sure if this is appropriate. I do know that the vast amount of online conspiracies are right-wing in nature, but felt like putting in some leftist stuff too.
This is going to sound sort of callous, but left wing conspiracies are just not a very large concern for me. I live in the southern US. I'm not worried about the threat that tankies pose to my family. Former friends and coworkers that have joined the 3%ers scare the shit out of me because they know I'm liberal. The fascists have clearly made threats, made laws, persecuted, and prosecuted all of us Others.
There is some wraparound with the anti-vaxx stuff, granola-Q, for sure.
Personally, the Democrats are a shit sandwich. The Republicans are a teacup full of arsenic. For now, I'll eat that shit sandwich and thank you much. History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. The path the Right is currently on leads to bodies in pits.
So, yeah, point out any propaganda and lies you see, I'll support that. It just isn't a priority for me.
It seems like it's too late unless you change the name.
But yes - if you want the focus to be broadly standing against propaganda and providing support and guidance for people trying to get out from under it, then of course it needs to be regardless of the specific alignment of said propaganda.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that partisanship is the foundation upon which the sort of propaganda you appear to be addressing is built. Most of it is explicitly framed as "The evil [other side] lies and says ____, but we're here to tell you the truth." While taking essentially that same approach to combat it might be effective, all you'd really be doing would be replacing their current indoctrination with one you thought aligned better with the truth. I would think that the actual goal should be to break that whole cycle entirely, and to do that, partisanship has to go.