First off is the fact that media fails to passionately seek truth in fear of being unbiased. Oliver points out that his show, which is incredibly popular and is a source of news for many despite being a comedy program, takes a clearly defined stance on issues, but still checks every single fact and makes sure that his information is accurate.
Second is the fact that misinformation can spread like wildfire on the internet. Donald Trump constantly backed up his arguments by saying that he "found it on the internet" or he "heard it on radio" - something that many people familiar with the cyberspace can easily dismiss, but others less familiar with the modern world take at face value.
On a personal level, I received this e-mail from my mom earlier this year (bad formatting intact), and it shows how deluded many people in this country are thanks to this spread of misinformation:
This was forwarded to me today and I thought it interesting seeing as I had heard this scenario once before from a different source... I find this hard to believe, but stranger things have happened.
Here’s a very interesting thought
!
A friend of mine
had to take
his
vehicle to the mechanic the other day for service. The Service Manager, Pete, gave
him
a ride home and on the way he told
my friend
his theory about the upcoming election and the next four years of U.S. government. At first
my friend
thought it a bit far
he
listened to him it began to make sense, scary sense...
“I believe that Hillary Clinton will win the election in November,” Pete began. “Then, sometime between November and January, Hillary will be indicted. The IRS is now investigating the Clinton Foundation and the whole e-mail thing isn’t over yet.”
“Once under indictment she won’t be able to assume the Office of the President in January. Tim Kaine, who will not actually be the Vice President because neither he nor Hillary have been inaugurated, cannot assume the Presidency.”
“The Speaker of the House can’t move up to it because there is already a sitting President and Vice President. So President Obama, in an Executive Order citing “emergency situation,” gives himself another four years in office is the only way possible.”
Pete believes Obama has been planning this for a while now, knowing he has enough on Hillary to indict her. Had the Attorney General indicted her based on evidence from the FBI, this plan wouldn’t have worked because the DNC would have quickly come up with another candidate.
If you think about it, it’s not that outrageous. Many people on the left, including the President, want Obama to stay another four years. The law prohibits him from being re-elected so the only ways he can do it is by declaring martial law and suspending the election (which would be a very negative thing for the country) or to declare himself still President because the elected candidate cannot assume her duties.
The latter makes more sense and is actually more feasible. And since it’s never been done before, it would set a precedent that would be difficult to challenge.
Of course, if Trump wins the election none of this is going to happen. But what if Pete is correct? Four more years of Obama and a mostly useless Republican House and Senate would give Obama the time he needs to continue destroying and changing the country to fit his stated goals.
I thanked Pete for the ride home – and for messing up my day. Now I’ve got more things to worry about!
Oliver continued to talk about what this election means for the next four years and what the consequences could be for not only the American public, but also the future of politics, the future of media, and the future of the Democratic Party.
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