When faced with Covfefe and Vbrosy

A global addiction and what we can do to curb it.

“Despite the constant negative press covfefe”

— President of the United States

Back in 2017 Donald Trump tweeted probably his most famous line, despite the constant negative press Covfefe.

And thus, Covfefe was born.

Sean Spicer assured us that the Donald and his close circle of friends — which I assume also included Roger Stone, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, were in on this; and they knew exactly what he meant.

And indeed Putin did. For it is as much a Russian tactic as it is a Donald tatic. With that, I bring you in word vbrosy. For every Trumpian covfefe, there is a Russian vbrosy.

Vbrosy means “to throw in” — to place useless sensationalism or misinformation aimed to confuse or stymie public discussion. Vbrosy is used to divert attention from what really matters, to confuse the public, and to reduce the quality of democracy (because democracy cannot function without citizens having access to clear unbiased news media). And it seems Trump has a natural gift in confusing the public and diverting attention. It’s what he does, and how he got elected.

But Covfefe remains the tweet that best illustrates Trump’s most preternatural gift: He knows how to captivate people, how to command and divert the attention of the masses. — Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic

Covfefe symbolises misinformation — unashamed and proud.

It is actually everywhere. Even in the medical profession. I bring you an excerpt from an Indian medical journal published in 2017:

Note the second paragraph - Misinformation or hormonal hearsay, may range from harmless to life-threatening. And only recently a man in Arizona has died after listening to Trump and ingested chloroquine.

Misinformation kills. If the State of Missouri can demand damages from China, then surely American citizens can demand damages from Trump.

Today’s world is one where covfefe and vbrosy run hand-in-hand like partners in crime. Truths, half-truths and lies are all infused together into a nasty concoction, and then injected into the minds of millions via social media platforms. The internet has truly made lies — Trumpian covfefe and vbrosy — spread faster than Covid19.

But the sad reality is — we love it. We’re already infected.

It’s a global addiction. We love sensationalist news. Lies are more attractive than the truth. Lies make better stories. Lies that can support our opinions become truths. We repeat such lies over and over again until we’re comfortable with it. We then defend it with our very lives — wage war over it.

As humans, we all have a natural tendency to form opinions first and selectively look for facts that back up their claims. In today’s world, it is far too easy to conjure up misinformation to back up bogus claims. This ease is incredibly worrying.

Where were those weapons of mass destruction? When Pompeo talks about the virus lab in Wuhan — it’s like de ja vue.

I hope, one day, in the not too distant future, we could look back and laugh at the folly of those Trumpian times. Until then we’re reduced to shovelling covfefe and vbrosy from our driveways and into our wheelie bins.