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Media-bashing robocalls, chloroquine Twitter trolls, briefing-room propaganda—my story on the Orwellian campaign of revisionist history to convince voters Trump was right about the coronavirus all along: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Six weeks ago, Trump was telling a crowd of supporters in South Carolina there was no reason to worry about the coronavirus.
Now, more than 25,000 Americans have died and he's recasting himself as a pandemic prophet. The revisionism is dystopian. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
Now, more than 25,000 Americans have died and he's recasting himself as a pandemic prophet. The revisionism is dystopian. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
Late last month, as shelter-in-place orders went into effect, people across the country started receiving robocalls attacking the media's coverage of Trump. I looked into it after a woman in Texas described it for me. Turns out they were from the NRCC: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
Democrats have been testing the effect of Trump's coronavirus briefings: One strategist told me that when voters were shown 90 seconds of one, Trump's performance in head-to-heat matchup with Biden improved by more than 2 points. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
The data firm Graphika mapped the Twitter conversation around Trump-endorsed miracle drug chloroquine. As well as being boosted by MAGA twitter, they found, it's a popular topic with conspiracists—common hashtags include #Soros, #Gates, and #DarkToLight https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
Meanwhile, on Fox News, Trump's allies are staying (cautiously) on message: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
One last thought: I've been reporting for months on the "disinformation architecture" Trump is relying on for reelection. (Read more here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-2020-disinformation-war/605530/)
This current effort to rewrite history is the most brazen thing I've seen—and it could work https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
This current effort to rewrite history is the most brazen thing I've seen—and it could work https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-message/610009/
