MAGA denialism on COVID killing its adherents
Conservatives who wallow in right-wing media consume a nonstop diet of COVID-19 denial and vaccine skepticism, so it should come as no surprise that they are much more likely to believe disinformation. As a result, they are dying in greater numbers than their better-informed, Democratic neighbors, friends and colleagues.
The Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed Americans on eight pieces of disinformation about COVID-19
(e.g., the government is lying about the fatalities, vaccines cause infertility).
Its poll found, “Nearly half (46 percent) of Republicans compared to just 14 percent of Democrats believe or are unsure about four or more misstatements about COVID-19.” In addition: “84 percent of Republicans believe or are unsure whether the government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 deaths by including deaths due to other causes, compared to just one third of Democrats.”
And while 52 percent of Republicans think pregnant individuals should not get the vaccine or are unsure, just 28 percent of Democrats do. When it comes to the anti-parasite drug ivermectin, 44 percent of Republicans think it is safe and effective, contrary to what the Food and Drug Administration has said; only 10 percent of Democrats say the same.
The role of right-wing media in spreading dangerous disinformation highlights the moral culpability of the hosts, executives, board members and stockholders who make money off selling lies to an unwary audience. The
KFF poll finds: “Among those who say they trust COVID-19 information from CNN, MSNBC, network news, NPR, and local TV news, between three in ten and four in ten do not believe any of the eight pieces of misinformation tested in the survey, while small shares (between 11 percent to 16 percent) believe or are unsure about at least four falsehoods.”
Meanwhile, “Belief in misinformation is higher among those who say they trust COVID-19 information from conservative news sources, with nearly four in ten of those who trust Fox News (36 percent) and One America News (37 percent) and nearly half (46 percent) of those who trust Newsmax for such information saying they have heard at least four of the falsehoods tested in the survey and either believe them to be true or are unsure if they’re true or false.” (Disclosure: I am an MSNBC contributor.)
The results are tragic. David Leonhardt of the New York Times notes, “The vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe COVID, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults.” As a result, deaths are concentrated in proTrump locales. Leonhardt concludes, “[Irrational] fears about vaccine side effects have overwhelmed rational fears about a deadly virus. It stems from disinformation — promoted by right-wing media, like Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, the Sinclair Broadcast Group and online sources.”
And it’s not just right-wing media exploiting these consumers. Republicans are bombarded with a nonstop barrage of deadly disinformation from a former president who concealed the transmissibility of the coronavirus and held super-spreader campaign events as well as the fleet of Republican House and Senate members spreading dangerous lies. And, it seems, rather than admit that they have been “had,” these Americans choose to get vaccinated only when death rates soar in their immediate area.
Democrats have shied from making a blunt assessment: Republican elites and politicians are contributing to unnecessary deaths of their supporters. Perhaps it is time for some straight talk. Tens of thousands (if not more) Republicans would likely be alive if they had not been victimized by greedy media barons and deceitful politicians. Rarely have we seen a political movement do so much harm to those it claims to protect. Democrats should say so.
❚❚Democrats have shied from making a blunt assessment: Republican elites and politicians are contributing to unnecessary deaths of their supporters. Perhaps it is time for some straight talk.