Starting a Panic (David Corn & James Pinkerton)

[tom]

Originally Posted by Sulla the Dictator

Oh isn't it? What is a rumor? Tell me where I'm wrong. Rumors aren't things you hear in real life? Barack Obama isn't President of the United States? Sending a message to people who work for the President isn't 'reporting'? Where is the error, exactly?

You claimed, earlier :

I don't think its perfectly reasonable to report your neighbors and friends to the government for things they say.

This characterization is wrong for two reasons:

1. There is no spot in the "misinformation" report on that website where they ask for the names of your neighbors and friends. It's clear that they're interested in the kinds of misinformation floating about, and not in collecting information about specific individuals.

Evidently they want to know how prevalent certain bits of misinformation are, and whether they are gaining traction mostly through websites, email, talk radio, word of mouth, etc. It's like when a business asks its customers "How did you hear about us?" It's not so they can keep close tabs on who is or is not talking about them, but rather so they have some data that will help them to more effectively get their message out.

2. The information submitted via the website is not reported to "the government". It is reported to the 2012 Obama Campaign. I already pointed this out in another response to you in this thread:

The website is part of his reelection campaign. The key difference is that the site is run like part of a campaign; in no way is the office of the President used to do something here that any other presidential candidate's campaign team couldn't manage just as easily.