My home is ground zero for disinformation.

And the reason for that is largely due to the collapse of local media and local journalism.

Accountability in the sharing of information is absent.

Here's how dangerous propaganda spreads.

A Thread

So why is my home ground zero?

National outlets mention that #MO04 tends to vote Republican, we have a lower proportion of college degrees.

That we lack sufficient access to the Internet.
And while those statistics are objectively true--it's misses the bigger picture.

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But we split ticket vote constantly.

Intelligence isn't dictated by one's amount of student loan debt.

And not all things on the Internet are objectively true.

No--our problem is less complicated--we simply lack the resources to fight misinformation.

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Rural journalism is almost nonexistent. If they publish at all, it's only a few days a week--and many are online only.

Or even worse, exist on a Facebook page.

This is why SO many people get their news from Facebook--it's the only place for us to go for local information.

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It becomes habit. If you want to know about school closures--check Facebook.

Obituaries? Check Facebook.

Weather? Check Facebook.

And this is where disinformation really thrives--because COVID-19 info? Check Facebook.

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This is how things like Plandemic and the "saveourchildren" QAnon stuff sweeps rural + suburban areas.

Working people don't recognize this is happening.

Loss of local journalism created a void and it's being filled by disinformation.

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Working people are focused on their kiddos--feeding their family--arriving to work on time--paying the bills--doing the laundry--getting the kiddos their baths--and maybe finding a few moments of peace for themselves.

They don't have time to be fact checkers too.

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Yesterday, I held a lit drop in a military community. A private citizen who calls himself a journalist posted about my arrival on one of those Facebook pages.

Before saying my name--he mentioned TWICE that I thought Hartzler + Trump should be court-martialed.

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He was referencing my campaign launch video--which he didn't bother to post for people to see and make up their own mind.

Nor did he mention I made those statements in 2019--and allowed folks to think it referenced actions of today or for their overall performance.

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And most notably--he provided no reference for why I said what I said.

Namely that in October 2019, Vicky Hartzler stormed a SCIF violating national security.

And Donald Trump opened the gates of slaughter onto our Kurdish allies while leaving US troops in harm's way.

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Outrage was the goal.

Not informing a military community about actions that threatened troop safety or national security which were taken by our elected leaders.

And that's exactly what happened.

I received a series of abusive messages meant to intimidate me.

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On the weekend of 9/11, while my husband is deployed, this man thought it appropriate to make an Army wife traveling with a small child feel unsafe at a local park outside of a US Army installation.

His words created the vitriol that came my way.

This is Trump's America.

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But I don't hide.

I found a safe place for my son + showed up.

And you know what? It was 100% safe.

Kiddos played in the park, parents smiling, and people enjoyed the opportunity to create positive change. We even had some first-time volunteers join us!

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While I was in the community, we chatted with fathers and mothers and daughters and sons who were polite and welcoming and excited to be valued by folks hoping to represent them.

It was just as welcoming and supportive as I have always known military communities to be.

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Even after a wonderful day--this same man went on to post that I was so frightened that I cancelled my event.

He then condemned the very intimidation and anger he helped create.

But I never cancelled the event. Nor did this man reach out to confirm such a rumor.

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He posted a lie anyway--fueling the narrative liberals are cowardly snowflakes, inciting more outrage.

After learning I didn't cancel the event, he poor cell reception as the reason for not fulling understanding the message given to him.

This isn't journalism.

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This isn't just about me or about this one event or even about Missouri.

I want you to see how this happens--how communities have been forced to rely on Facebook for information and how those tools can be manipulated and used against the very people they're meant to help.

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This is what we're up against in November.

This very localized source of misinformation that shifts the opinions of thousands.

It isn't just Fox News or Rush Limbaugh--it's the simple scrolling through the page all your friends are talking about during lunch break.

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The reason we're to this point--where Facebook has such sway over our communities is directly related to the loss of local journalism.

If Facebook is going to allow its platform to serve as a news publication across the United States, it must be held to the same standards.

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That's not to say every post must be regulated as such--but groups purporting to be a digital newspaper themselves must face the same requirements as truly digital newspapers.

They can no longer hide behind the shield that Facebook provides.

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Our right to a free press exists precisely because it was meant to be another check on the preservation of our republic.

Because an informed electorate is the key to a thriving democracy.

And a misinformed or disinformed electorate is the key to its undoing.

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