# Trump Supporter's Minds are full of Misinformation! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 20, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141 "2016-10-20T15:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/1 "2016-10-20T15:13:32Z")
I’ve been watching all this Trump nonsense the last few weeks and can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would continue to support Trump??? :smack: Well I spoke with a few of them the other day and got an answer to that question. They told me some bizarre “facts” about Hillary and untruths about Trump. They are tapped into a stream of misinformation! Worse yet, they DO NOT LISTEN TO OR READ THE NEWS! So their misconceptions are never corrected by factual information. Luckily many of these people are not registered to vote, so that is some good news. (These are people I have met and talked with and my observations are limited to that.) ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/2 "2016-10-20T15:27:59Z")
There’s an entire industry of right-wing radio, television, and websites that provides that misinformation. They hustle a quick buck by appealing the worst instincts and cognitive flaws human beings are susceptible to. We’re really testing the limits of whether a democracy can function without an informed electorate. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/3 "2016-10-20T15:33:39Z")
Democracy hardly “functions” at all! It is not more efficient, more intelligent,even more economical. Morons governing themselves rather than being ruled by other morons is simply more _just_. That’s all we get. It’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/4 "2016-10-20T15:45:41Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > There’s an entire industry of right-wing radio, television, and websites that provides that misinformation. They hustle a quick buck by appealing the worst instincts and cognitive flaws human beings are susceptible to… I read multiple news sources - international and U.S. A few weeks ago the L.A. Times and Fox News were quite slanted toward Trump, but lately even these have dropped that line and are reporting the facts of what he is doing. Showing polls in line with the other news media. But the people I spoke with don’t even read/watch those! (Their news is rumors and word of mouth.) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/5 "2016-10-20T16:12:19Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > I read multiple news sources - international and U.S. A few weeks ago the L.A. Times and Fox News were quite slanted toward Trump, but lately even these have dropped that line and are reporting the facts of what he is doing. Showing polls in line with the other news media. The LA Times isn’t reporting polls any differently than they used to - it’s just that the poll they use is slowly creeping more towards numbers similar to other polls. Their poll has been asking the exact same people the exact same questions since it started. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/6 "2016-10-20T16:35:50Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > I’ve been watching all this Trump nonsense the last few weeks and can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would continue to support Trump??? :smack: > > Well I spoke with a few of them the other day and got an answer to that question. They told me some bizarre “facts” about Hillary and untruths about Trump. They are tapped into a stream of misinformation! > > Worse yet, they DO NOT LISTEN TO OR READ THE NEWS! So their misconceptions are never corrected by factual information. > > Luckily many of these people are not registered to vote, so that is some good news. > > (These are people I have met and talked with and my observations are limited to that.) _“On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”_ - H.L. Mencken ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/7 "2016-10-20T16:50:48Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > There’s an entire industry of right-wing radio, television, and websites that provides that misinformation. They hustle a quick buck by appealing the worst instincts and cognitive flaws human beings are susceptible to. > > We’re really testing the limits of whether a democracy can function without an informed electorate. Agree. I think also with the advent of the internet chat rooms and trolling as a full-contact sport, it’s easy to get sealed-off from reality in the echo chambers. It can happen on the left as well. Without people demanding that facts be taken into account, mis-information can run wild. Once people start believing the lies, it’s really hard for them to admit they are even lies, much less that their position is wrong. When confronted with facts, they think the facts are lies. People want to believe, and when they start believing, they stop thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/8 "2016-10-20T17:01:05Z")
I know and have spoken to real life people in my very own neighborhood who support Trump, with yard signs to prove it, and they are actually pretty well plugged into world and local news. So, I guess there’s your counter anecdote. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/9 "2016-10-20T17:08:13Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I know and have spoken to real life people in my very own neighborhood who support Trump, with yard signs to prove it, and they are actually pretty well plugged into world and local news. So, I guess there’s your counter anecdote. Same here, but there is a difference between people “supporting Trump” and people voting for “not Clinton”. Most of the smart people I know voting Trump are in the latter group. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/10 "2016-10-20T17:13:05Z")
[Filter bubbles.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble) > [@](#): > > A filter bubble is a result of a personalized search in which a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user (such as location, past click behavior and search history). As a result, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles. The choices made by the algorithms are not transparent. Prime examples are Google Personalized Search results and Facebook’s personalized news stream. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/11 "2016-10-20T17:15:54Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Same here, but there is a difference between people “supporting Trump” and people voting for “not Clinton”. Most of the smart people I know voting Trump are in the latter group. Indeed, there are many thoughtful people who believe that the benefits of voting for a Republican President, with a Republican Congress in place, outweighs the risks of voting for Trump. But it would be a (only a tiny) stretch to call them Trump supporters. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/12 "2016-10-20T17:36:14Z")
The misinformation gives them cover. Some folks don’t need cover. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/13 "2016-10-20T17:48:02Z")
Trump supporters have access to the right information; they’re just selective about what they process. For Trump supporters, the country has changed. It’s not the America they knew. College and healthcare used to be affordable. You didn’t even need a college education to have a middle class lifestyle. Silicon Valley groupies in the media have been trying to sell us on the shared economy and the ‘gig’ economy, but these people aren’t having it. And I can almost sympathize with them in a way. But these changes have all coincided with an influx of immigrants and a decline in unilateral power for whites in boardrooms and politics across the country - and that’s the real issue. They know Trump is fundamentally flawed but a flawed president is not the clearest and most present danger in their minds – the decline of their America, the one they’re nostalgic about, is. And I don’t think some of these people are joking around when they talk of revolution - I think it’s very real in their minds. ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-supporters-minds-are-full-of-misinformation/769141/14 "2016-10-20T19:00:44Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Trump supporters have access to the right information; they’re just selective about what they process. > > For Trump supporters, the country has changed. It’s not the America they knew. College and healthcare used to be affordable. You didn’t even need a college education to have a middle class lifestyle. Silicon Valley groupies in the media have been trying to sell us on the shared economy and the ‘gig’ economy, but these people aren’t having it. And I can almost sympathize with them in a way. But these changes have all coincided with an influx of immigrants and a decline in unilateral power for whites in boardrooms and politics across the country - and that’s the real issue. > > They know Trump is fundamentally flawed but a flawed president is not the clearest and most present danger in their minds – the decline of their America, the one they’re nostalgic about, is. And I don’t think some of these people are joking around when they talk of revolution - I think it’s very real in their minds. Your imagined “decline in unilateral power for whites” is not an issue, but the “influx of immigrants” is, when they include millions of downtroddens to support. As for the “decline in their America”, been to Northeast Philly lately?