{"id":2110689,"date":"2023-11-29T08:20:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T13:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-pretending-tiktok-disinformation-stokes-price-fears-is-an-insult-to-americans\/"},"modified":"2023-11-29T08:23:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T13:23:30","slug":"white-house-pretending-tiktok-disinformation-stokes-price-fears-is-an-insult-to-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-pretending-tiktok-disinformation-stokes-price-fears-is-an-insult-to-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"White House’s TikTok ‘disinformation’ claim insults Americans, fuels price concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

20<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

<\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>

Government Disinformation and\u200b Inflation Fears<\/h2>\n
\n
Somehow we\u2019re at the point in American history when \u2062the government calling something \u201cdisinformation\u201d is a \u200cleading indicator it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n
This week government-boosted propaganda outlets are amplifying\u2064 the \u2063Biden administration\u2019s fatuous claim that inflation fears are being artificially increased by \u201cdisinformation\u201d on social media. Katerina Eva Matsa, the \u201cdirector of news and information research at the Pew Research Center,\u201d told The New\u2062 York Times, \u201c\u2019Is the news \u2014 the way it has \u200bevolved \u2014 making\u200d people view \u2063things\u200c negatively?\u2019 she asked. It\u2019s hard to tell, she explained, but \u2018how you\u2019re being bombarded, entangled\u2063 in all of \u2063this information might have contributed.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Impact of Social Media on Economic Perceptions<\/h3>\n
The article<\/a> goes on to blame the American people\u2019s very negative economic perceptions on viral social media\u200b posts foregrounding\u200d the issue in their minds. The Washington Post<\/a> and The \u200dNew Republic<\/a> fisked a viral TikTok post \u2064about a guy paying $16 for lunch at McDonald\u2019s. Not one of\u2063 them\u200d refuted the cost of the \u200dIdaho guy\u2019s burger, fries, and drink, \u2063but instead hand-waved about how the incident \u2062doesn\u2019t represent the whole picture.<\/p>\n
The White \u200dHouse Office of Digital Strategy\u200b \u201ctracked the\u2063 meme as one of many exaggerated examples of the nation\u2019s economic woes,\u201d an anonymous\u2064 White House official told the Post. The Post went on to air federal officials\u2019 frustration that \u201cone anomalous price from \u2064one store in Idaho 11 months ago was ripping through people\u2019s social media feeds<\/a> \u200bas if it explained the entire economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
This \u2063is one of the stupidest media cycles I\u2019ve seen<\/a> \u200bin the 10 years I\u2019ve been monitoring them at The Federalist. It\u2019s not social media\u200c making\u200b inflation top of Americans\u2019 minds, it\u2019s every trip to every store. It\u2019s every online purchase, every visit \u200bto the gas pump, every month of paying home energy bills that only increase in baseline\u2063 prices.<\/p>\n
I have some kind of economic interaction just about every day, and every one is shocking and a little bit terrifying even though, unlike the majority of Americans, we\u2019re doing fine paying our bills. Every time we empty a peanut butter jar<\/a> or flour bin I \u2064wonder how much it will cost this time to replace it. Every\u2063 time our water bill goes up I start thinking maybe\u2064 I shouldn\u2019t\u200c take those wonderfully relaxing baths that ease my aches at certain times of the month.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
It\u2019s scary even though we\u2019re making ends meet<\/a>, partially because the people supposedly in charge of this have \u200bno clue how to \u200bfix \u2062it because doing so contradicts \u2064their ideology. Instead, they\u2019re just cracking \u2062down on people who notice \u2063the problem. That kind of response is a recipe for\u2062 making everything \u2064worse.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not \u2063an idiot, I\u2019ve been\u2062 grocery shopping\u2064 weekly for \u200d20 years, and I have the regular and sale prices of all my staples memorized. It\u2019s\u2062 not TikTok, it\u2019s the freaking prices.<\/p>\n
Here are some examples \u200cof those staples from my \u2063area, one\u200c of the lowest cost-of-living \u2064localities in\u200d the country. You will notice the price jumps are\u200c way<\/strong> higher than the \u2063officially claimed numbers for \u2064overall inflation over this time period of something \u2062like 10-15 percent. All of the prices \u2062listed are for the exact\u2063 same brands.<\/p>\n
Sour cream, 16 oz. We eat\u200d at least \u200cfour of these a week.
2020: $0.99
2023: $1.69, sometimes $1.99<\/p>\n
\n
\u200bHow has the government’s labeling of \u2062certain\u200c information as\u200d “disinformation” contributed\u200d to public perceptions of its accuracy?<\/h2>\n
Government Disinformation and\u200b Inflation Fears<\/p>\n
In recent times, it seems that \u2062when the government \u200dlabels something as \u200b”disinformation,” it \u200bis actually \u2063an indication that the information is true. This week, propaganda outlets supported by the government have been amplifying the\u2064 Biden\u200c administration’s\u2064 baseless claim that inflation fears are\u2063 being artificially increased\u200b by\u200d “disinformation” spread \u200con social media. Katerina Eva \u200dMatsa, the director of news and information research at the Pew Research Center,\u2062 questioned whether\u2064 the way news \u200cis\u200b disseminated\u2062 in today’s world contributes\u2064 to people’s negative perceptions. She\u200b acknowledged the overwhelming amount of information bombarding individuals and how \u200cit may \u200bhave played\u2062 a role in\u200c shaping their views.<\/p>\n
The impact \u200bof social media on economic perceptions is a \u2062topic that has\u2063 received\u200c attention. \u2064An article from The \u2063New York Times attributes negative \u200ceconomic sentiments\u2063 among the \u2062American\u2062 population to\u2063 viral \u200csocial media\u200b posts that \u2063highlight such \u200dconcerns. The Washington Post and The New Republic both criticized a popular TikTok video\u2064 in which \u200ca person \u2062claimed \u200cto have paid $16 for lunch\u200c at McDonald’s. While none of\u2062 these publications refuted the \u200bspecific cost mentioned in the video, they instead dismissed it \u2062as an isolated \u2062incident\u2063 that \u200ddoes \u2064not represent the overall economic situation.<\/p>\n
The White House \u2062Office\u200b of Digital\u2063 Strategy \u2063identified the viral TikTok video as one of many exaggerated\u2063 examples of the nation’s economic problems. According to an anonymous White House official quoted in the\u2063 Post, federal officials were frustrated that\u200b a single unusual price at\u200b a store in Idaho from almost a\u200c year ago was spreading through social media as if it were an\u2064 accurate depiction of the entire\u2062 economy.<\/p>\n
This recurring \u200ddebate surrounding \u2064inflation fears and the role of social media in shaping economic \u200cperceptions is one \u200bof \u2064the most absurd discussions\u2062 in the media. The focus on isolated\u2064 incidents and\u200c cherry-picked \u2064examples often\u2064 distorts the\u2064 bigger picture. While it is important\u200b to critically analyze\u2062 information and understand its context,\u2062 it is equally crucial for the government and media outlets\u200c to provide accurate and unbiased information to the public.<\/p>\n
The responsibility lies\u2064 with both the government\u2062 and the\u200c media \u200bto address this \u2064issue. The government should refrain from dismissing legitimate concerns as \u200bdisinformation and should instead provide transparent and \u200cevidence-based explanations for\u200c the economic situation. Furthermore, media outlets should strive to \u2063present a balanced view of the economy, taking into account the diversity of experiences and not \u200dsolely relying on isolated anecdotes.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, the claim that inflation\u200b fears\u200d are being\u200b artificially increased \u2063by disinformation on social media is unconvincing and lacks substantial evidence. The impact of social media on economic \u2062perceptions should \u200bbe examined in a comprehensive and\u2064 unbiased\u200d manner to\u200b provide a \u200cmore accurate understanding of the situation. A constructive and informed dialogue between \u2063the government, media,\u2062 and\u2064 the public is crucial\u2062 in addressing\u2063 these concerns and fostering trust in the\u200c information being disseminated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Somehow, in America’s history, when the government labels something as “disinformation,” it often turns out to be true. This week, government-backed media is promoting the Biden administration’s baseless assertion that social media is artificially inflating concerns about inflation through “disinformation.” Katerina Eva Matsa, the “director of news and information research at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":2110690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2110689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2110689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2110690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2110689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2110689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2110689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}