5 ms·

This seems like an incredible opportunity to see if it's possible to reprogram InfoWars readers away from the hate and the conspiracy theories. It would be a m

This seems like an incredible opportunity to see if it's possible to reprogram InfoWars readers away from the hate and the conspiracy theories. It would be a massive undertaking but wouldn't it be funny if the savior of modern media turned out to be a student newspaper from Madison, Wisconsin?

ceejayoz 2y ago
> This seems like an incredible opportunity to see if it's possible to reprogram InfoWars readers away from the hate and the conspiracy theories. Not a chance; they just flee to other outlets. Even Fox News saw huge numbers of people jump to NewsMax and OANN and whatnot.
- joezydeco 2y ago
  The trick is to do it without the readers noticing.
  - cogman10 2y ago
    Not terribly hard as Info warriors aren't known for being detail oriented. Credulity is somewhat of a requirement to be sincere.
  - alt187 2y ago
    > The trick is to lie to them to get them away from their hateful and conspiracy theories I can't articulate what you're admitting to exactly, but it's an interesting admission. On a more serious note, most of the readers of these kinds of outlets aren't stupid in this specific sense. They go looking for confirmation, rather than new information. This is why they're hard to untangle.
    - pcf 2y ago
      > They go looking for confirmation, rather than new information. This is why they're hard to untangle. This applies to most readers of most things, not just fringe content on the Left or the Right. Most people are stuck in their confirmation biases, and few make an intellectual effort to look at topics from multiple angles and via multiple media outlets on various sides of the political spectrum.
- ChrisRR 2y ago
  Only if they notice. They're stupid enough to have followed infowars in the first place
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
AI_beffr 2y ago
what is the difference, really, between the way the word "hate" is used now and the they the word "sin" was used 200 years ago?
- fallingfrog 2y ago
  Easy, hate is what those people throwing stones were feeling, and sun is what they were accusing that woman of. You know the verse, right? The hate remains the same today, except now the “sin” is being gay, or getting raped, etc.
  - AI_beffr 2y ago
    not seeing your point
JimDabell 2y ago
The difficulty with this is that anything that isn’t a hard 180 involves continuing to publish approximately the same type of content for a while, which is probably unpalatable to The Onion. Anything that is a small enough course correction to retain its audience is too small a shift to get away from that hateful nonsense. It’s a nice idea to try to steer people away, but you have to start off by driving in the same direction, which nobody wants to do.
- anon373839 2y ago
  I have an inkling that Poe’s Law could almost bridge the gap in some way…
  - hughesjj 2y ago
    "they're turning the frogs straight!"
9cb14c1ec0 2y ago
InfoWars audience is loyal only to Jones himself and will never visit InfoWars again. Jones will go elsewhere, 100% of his audience will follow, and the Onion is in for a big letdown. If you are dreaming about reprogramming Jone's followers by taking over InfoWars, it just shows that you know nothing about the typical InfoWars consumer.
- hatenberg 2y ago
  You are overestimating them. By far.
  - 9cb14c1ec0 2y ago
    I will never cease to by amused by the idea that Jones' fans value the InfoWars brand and website above Jones himself. He is a celebrity among his fans. Exactly 0 of them will pay any attention to InfoWars the minute Jones is no longer associated with the brand.
- glaucon 2y ago
  This my view, in fact the whole thing completely puzzles me, Jones is free to publish his vile views elsewhere and his followers will find him. Infowars "onion-style" would have to be pretty dammed subtle to "trick" Jonesites into consuming it sincerely. How the parents of the Sandy Hook victims use their compensation is their business but I feel supporting advocacy for better mental health facilities in the USA would be a better use of the money.
- lukas099 2y ago
  > The Onion is in for a big letdown. I don’t think they expected anything different. I think they saw the brand for sale at firesale prices, and decided they could use it. In fact, they’re one of the only ’mainstream’ outlets that can use the InfoWars brand, since it’s funny. Perhaps they will set up a ‘competing’ ‘right-wing’ satire site ala Colbert Report vs Daily Show.
  - shaftway 2y ago

ceejayoz 2y ago

> This seems like an incredible opportunity to see if it's possible to reprogram InfoWars readers away from the hate and the conspiracy theories. Not a chance; they just flee to other outlets. Even Fox News saw huge numbers of people jump to NewsMax and OANN and whatnot.

joezydeco 2y ago
The trick is to do it without the readers noticing.
- cogman10 2y ago
  Not terribly hard as Info warriors aren't known for being detail oriented. Credulity is somewhat of a requirement to be sincere.
- alt187 2y ago
  > The trick is to lie to them to get them away from their hateful and conspiracy theories I can't articulate what you're admitting to exactly, but it's an interesting admission. On a more serious note, most of the readers of these kinds of outlets aren't stupid in this specific sense. They go looking for confirmation, rather than new information. This is why they're hard to untangle.
  - pcf 2y ago
    > They go looking for confirmation, rather than new information. This is why they're hard to untangle. This applies to most readers of most things, not just fringe content on the Left or the Right. Most people are stuck in their confirmation biases, and few make an intellectual effort to look at topics from multiple angles and via multiple media outlets on various sides of the political spectrum.
ChrisRR 2y ago
Only if they notice. They're stupid enough to have followed infowars in the first place
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

AI_beffr 2y ago

what is the difference, really, between the way the word "hate" is used now and the they the word "sin" was used 200 years ago?

fallingfrog 2y ago
Easy, hate is what those people throwing stones were feeling, and sun is what they were accusing that woman of. You know the verse, right? The hate remains the same today, except now the “sin” is being gay, or getting raped, etc.
- AI_beffr 2y ago
  not seeing your point

JimDabell 2y ago

The difficulty with this is that anything that isn’t a hard 180 involves continuing to publish approximately the same type of content for a while, which is probably unpalatable to The Onion. Anything that is a small enough course correction to retain its audience is too small a shift to get away from that hateful nonsense. It’s a nice idea to try to steer people away, but you have to start off by driving in the same direction, which nobody wants to do.

anon373839 2y ago
I have an inkling that Poe’s Law could almost bridge the gap in some way…
- hughesjj 2y ago
  "they're turning the frogs straight!"

9cb14c1ec0 2y ago

InfoWars audience is loyal only to Jones himself and will never visit InfoWars again. Jones will go elsewhere, 100% of his audience will follow, and the Onion is in for a big letdown. If you are dreaming about reprogramming Jone's followers by taking over InfoWars, it just shows that you know nothing about the typical InfoWars consumer.

hatenberg 2y ago
You are overestimating them. By far.
- 9cb14c1ec0 2y ago
  I will never cease to by amused by the idea that Jones' fans value the InfoWars brand and website above Jones himself. He is a celebrity among his fans. Exactly 0 of them will pay any attention to InfoWars the minute Jones is no longer associated with the brand.
glaucon 2y ago
This my view, in fact the whole thing completely puzzles me, Jones is free to publish his vile views elsewhere and his followers will find him. Infowars "onion-style" would have to be pretty dammed subtle to "trick" Jonesites into consuming it sincerely. How the parents of the Sandy Hook victims use their compensation is their business but I feel supporting advocacy for better mental health facilities in the USA would be a better use of the money.
lukas099 2y ago
> The Onion is in for a big letdown. I don’t think they expected anything different. I think they saw the brand for sale at firesale prices, and decided they could use it. In fact, they’re one of the only ’mainstream’ outlets that can use the InfoWars brand, since it’s funny. Perhaps they will set up a ‘competing’ ‘right-wing’ satire site ala Colbert Report vs Daily Show.
- shaftway 2y ago