Anatomy of a Misinfo Meme
Anatomy of a Misinfo Meme
#81 Political operatives who attempted to smear Pete Buttigieg in 2019 pushed a "Biden has Parkinsons" rumor the same week.
Welcome back to TracingVRL.
Today’s newsletter is a single-focused edition on the meme from last week being played out in news media, and about the presidential race between a man with 34 felony conditions, Donald Trump, and the Biden-Harris Democratic ticket. While TracingVRL is about pandemic misinformation, this article shows a narrative that was seeded then laundered, which can inform how public health campaigns can defend against misinformation during infectious disease outbreaks.
**But first: COVID is continuing to spread, wastewater readings show, and hospitalizations are up slightly, though nothing like in 2020. The CDC recommends adults 65 and over get a spring redundant dose of the annual COVID vaccine. A narrative is spreading to suggest you should wait to test for COVID. Instead of waiting to test for COVID, it’s better to test multiple times so as to be able to utilize post-infection antivirals like Paxlovid, which must be taken within the first five days after testing positive.** Onto today’s newsletter.
Contents:
The ‘End Parkinson’s Act’ Signed July 2, 2024
Wohl and Burkman
Misinformation Narrative Began July 2nd
British Invasion of the U.S. Press Corps
How are Brits Different? With Marc Maron and John Oliver
Whether Kamala Harris is a white male or a Black-Asian female, whether Harris is on the top of the ticket or remains the vice presidential nominee, it’s possible that due to the Biden administration’s heavy antitrust activity from their first term, and the loss of future fossil fuel revenue due to the Inflation Reduction Act, the knives are going to be out for Biden-Harris. If both the president and vice president leave the Democratic ticket altogether, “their former campaign could only transfer $2,000 of the money that had been collected to a new candidate” the AP has found. The replacement candidate, should the Democrats implement one, would have to jump through more hoops to set up super PACs and other alternative campaign fund structures.
But this edition of the newsletter is about the meme from last week, during which news outlets erased recent information. The misinformation narrative speculating President Biden may have Parkinson’s mutated into a false narrative that more Democrats like Nancy Pelosi verbally encouraged Joe Biden to step aside, which she did not:
Jul 10 Pelosi snaps at reporter asking about Biden: Am I speaking English to you? (The Hill) - “Am I speaking English to you? I’m not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway, Pelosi told Scott, according to a video the ABC News reporter posted on the social platform X. Pelosi also said she thinks Biden can win in November. “
Jul 10 Though Biden says he's staying in presidential race, top Democrats express doubts (CBS News) - “Pelosi told CBS News later Wednesday morning that ‘there are some misrepresentations of what I have said,’ noting that she ‘never said he should reconsider his decision.’”
But first, the good news. Both houses of Congress passed an historic “End Parkinson’s Act” and President Biden signed it into law on July 2nd, 2024. The bill establishes a council, comprised of federal and nonfederal stakeholders, to advise HHS on and make recommendations concerning the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease.
The ‘End Parkinson’s Act’ Signed July 2, 2024
Mar 29 2023 Introduced in Senate: National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (United States Congress) -
Dec 14 2023 Passed House: Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (United States Congress) -
Jul 02 President Biden's X account publishes post announcing "End Parkinson's Act" is now law (X.com/POTUS) - “Today I signed the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act a law that will help prevent, treat, and cure Parkinson’s disease and similar disorders. This law is about dignity. It gives people hope that we can end this cruel disease and that we can still do big things.“
Jul 02 Breaking News from D.C.: President Biden Has Signed the National Plan to End Parkinson's Act Into Law (Michael J. Fox Foundation) - "President Biden has signed the National Plan to End Parkinson's Act into law! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will now …”
Jul 03 President Biden Signs Parkinson's Bill into Law (Parkinson's Foundation) -
My close friend from college is managing his early Parkinson’s disease. I did not know of the “End Parkinson’s Act” until journalist Brian Stelter tweeted on July 3rd that President Biden was being hypocritical in signing the act the same time there was speculation about Biden’s own health. Stelter later deleted the tweet, good for him. But I responded to him at the time:
Now, the ugly news. Operatives first attempted to seed a “Biden has Parkinson’s” rumor in 2019, as the Washington Examiner reported at the time.
Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman
So both the 1) timing of the misinformation narrative, coupled with the 2) history of Wohl & Burkman attempting to push this rumor in the past, strongly suggests the “Biden has Parkinsons” speculation was seeded by deliberate misinformation, which is disinformation. That doesn’t mean every news clip below was an act of deliberate deception. It just suggests news outlets knowingly or unknowingly laundered a peddled rumor.
May 08 2019 Right-wing smear merchants push theory that Joe Biden 'may have Parkinsons' (Washington Examiner) - "Conservative provocateurs Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman held a chaotic press conference in a suburban driveway to float rumors about Joe Biden’s health even as sexual assault allegations against South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg fell apart. Wohl and Burkman are accused of pressuring male college student Hunter Kelly into making sexual assault claims against Buttigieg, who is gay."
Apr 09 Right-wing operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman agree to pay up to $1.2 million for misleading 2020 robocalls (NBC News) - “Far-right operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have agreed to pay New York Attorney General Letitia James' office up to $1.2 million for a robocall campaign they put together to suppress the Black vote ahead of the 2020 election. Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a depraved and disinformation-ridden campaign to intimidate Black voters in an attempt to sway the election in favor of their preferred candidate.” “James filed suit in 2021 against the pair, who were known for smearing President Donald Trump's political opponents with transparently false accusations.”
Such Timing! Misinformation Narrative Began July 2nd
The following clips are judged by TracingVRL to be misinformation for two reasons: a) the text of the story contradicts the headline or b) the story omits mention of the bipartisan “End Parkinson’s Act” President Biden signed July 2, 2024.
Jul 02 [Misinformation: ] Biden’s Lapses Are Said to Be Increasingly Common and Worrisome (New York Times) - TracingVRL: ZERO mentions of the "End Parkinson's Act" Biden signed July 2, 2024. TWO mentions Biden may or may not have Parkinson's. “He’s inquisitive. Focused. He remembers. He’s sharp, said Neera Tanden, the presidents domestic policy adviser.”
Jul 06 [Misinformation: ] President Bidens physician met with Parkinson’s disease specialist in White House (New York Post) -
Jul 08 [Misinformation: ] What we know about Parkinson’s experts visits to Biden White House (The Hill) -
Jul 08 [Misinformation: ] White House doctor offers explanation for Parkinson's expert's visits (ABC News) - TracingVRL says: ZERO mentions of the "End Parkinson's Act" Biden signed July 2, 2024 are in this story.
Jul 09 [Misinformation: ] The Biden-Parkinsons mini-controversy, explained (Washington Post) - TracingVRL: this story still omits any mention of the “End Parkinson’s Act” President Biden signed July 2nd, 2024.
Jul 09 [Misinformation: ] White House Admits Parkinson's Specialist Repeatedly Evaluated President Biden (Futurism via Yahoo! News) -
Jul 09 [Misinformation: ] White House releases letter from Biden's doctor after questions about Parkinson's specialist's White House visits (CBS News) - TracingVRL: This is the most accurate headline so far. Yet the story includes ZERO mentions of the “End Parkinson’s Act” President Biden signed into law July 2, 2024. "The White House released a letter from President Biden's doctor Monday night after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced repeated questions at a briefing earlier in the day about Mr. Biden's health and whether visits to the White House by a Parkinson's disease specialist involved the president."
What’s going on with the press? Why is this happening? No matter what Biden or Harris or future candidates say, it seems certain this verbal speculation this news-erasure, this punishment for passing a Parkinson’s research bill, will continue.
Part of it’s the nature of the press, where the root word of news is “new”. The job in political reporting is apparently to look forward and not back, and to not look at policy, but to cover who’s winning and who’s losing. But recent changes in management at top national news outlets could also be playing a role.
British Invasion of the U.S. Press Corps
Jun 21 2024 Opinion: US and UK journalism are different. But they’re going to get a lot more similar by Emily Bell (The Guardian) - “[Will] Lewis, like many British editors and executives, is used to pacifying billionaire owners.”
Jun 06 2024 Brits Are Taking Over US Media (Newsweek) - “From London to the Big Apple: Brits are carving a niche in U.S. newsrooms. A growing number of British editors and journalists are making their mark on well-known American newspapers and websites, bringing their unique flair to the fast-paced world of U.S. media.” Recent British managers have been installed at the Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg News, Wall Street Journal, and another at The Daily Beast.
How Are Brits Different? With John Oliver & Marc Maron
While well-educated, the British leaders of U.S. news outlets are not steeped in U.S. history from our point of view, British-born comedian John Oliver told Marc Maron on a February podcast. Oliver attended an elite British college, Cambridge. Oliver now holds dual citizenship in the U.S. Here’s what he said on episode 1510, Feb. 8, 2024 at the 1:15:00 mark:
JO: When asked about, when I when I think about those questions that might be coming from my kids, right? I do think there will be a value even as frustrating as I know you find it, to giving historical context for how we got here. So even as you're describing to the mess that they're currently in, the country's currently in, it's going to be really important to explain why. Because otherwise it seems inexplicable, and it isn't, right? Because there's precedent all the way.
MM: That's right, you should give your kids a sense of who to blame.
JO: Yeah.
JO: But I was I was I felt short-changed just as a British person not having a fully developed sense of British history. And what it meant.
MM: It's so much of it, there's so much!
JO: You're right you're right. But it but it's very very easy to because there's so much of it, to focus on the good bits. Which are good, but they actually don't speak to like why Britain is how it is. So like the basic things that I was taught in history lessons at school kind of came around to the same story. The Industrial Revolution, the Second World War. Right? Both of those things, the macro story is it was hard, but we got it done.
MM: That's right.
JO: We did the right thing.
MM: So you don't talk about colonialism?
JO: No and we REALLY didn't talk about it. Really didn't. And that is a colossal shortchange. You can, you can feel the absence of it now. My friend -- you would like it -- a friend I went to college with [name ] wrote a great book called Empireland which is basically filling in the gaps that we had through the deficiency in the way that British history was taught in our schools.
MM: Oh wow.
JO: And fully--and it's a very readable book. Which is crazy when you're taking on something that's so sprawling. Helps you understand why Britain is the way it is right now. And that there are answers those questions that are not just well we had an empire and then uh it was taken away from us.
MM: [laughter] It, it didn't collapse.
JO: Yeah its its uh, and I I felt at the end of the end of that book both massively more able to understand the country that brought me up. And and also pretty angry at the fact that I I'm learning some of this in my mid-40's. And that this ... I think that is changing. I was a … if you're looking for hope? He's written a children's version of this book as well, kind of for 12-13 year-olds and he's done a really good job at, at meeting them where they are. And kind of just walking them into some things they might be interested in giving them some ways to go and look at more of this if they want to now or maybe later.
[Snip]
JO: And that's a massive problem. Because you can you cannot - It's understandable to want people to have a better history than they actually do have, but it's f***ing dangerous. Because you are setting them up for failure or disaster in the near future.
It’s interesting to see that someone mature, someone educated at an elite institution in Britain like John Oliver was, became angry at the history he was shielded from.
Emily Bell said the shrinking number of newsrooms is taking American culture from a “healthy plurality” to a “winner-takes-all market.” This doesn’t have to be forever. Because if this continues, then every positive move like enacting a Parkinson’s Research Act will be punished with news-erasure, by opportunistic smear-merchants. People will respond with fomented rumors that you’re unfit for office.
I usually use this newsletter to encourage people to subscribe to a newspaper. But this week leaves me unable to say that, at least at the national level.
This is an unpleasant stretch of the information age. How we respond will determine whether it stays that way. If we don’t course-correct, it’s guaranteed to grow much much worse. Very fast.
This concludes a special single-focused edition of TracingVRL newsletter. Please support this project with a paying subscription if you can.
I don’t toss these newsletters out off the top of my head. Each newsletter is informed by interviews, many trips to the library and years of research I conducted while in, and in exile from, the Silicon Valley startup scene.
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