Fiction Writers for Better Misinformation seeks to use misinformation to get voters more engaged in the electoral process. We welcome proposals for books, movies, propaganda campaigns, reality TV shows.
The Problem: People disagree about basic questions of fact. What is the state of the economy? Whose plan cuts more from Medicare? Where was Obama born? Did Romney pay any taxes? These differences of understanding lead to rancor and, on occasion, violent confrontation.
The Proposal: Why not give everyone what they want and eliminate the cause of discord? We create a news reference website through which people can set their preferences and receive only comforting facts. You want to know the truth behind the Romney tax brouhaha? If you’re a Democrat and you search on our site, you’ll find, just as you suspected, a copy of his 2006 returns showing zero paid in taxes, proving the injustice of his tax policies. But if you’re a Republican, the same search will return documents showing he paid a hefty 14% in 2006, proving to you that tax rates on the wealthy are more than high enough already. Similarly, there will be multiple-choice versions of Obama’s birth certificate (US and Kenya), budget projections, and polling results.
Furthermore, the site will allow people from opposite parties to share information back and forth, while each is only seeing what they want to see. Say I’m a Republican and I want to prove to you–a Democrat–that Obama’s policies will cripple small businesses. I use the share tool on the site to send you the relevant graph. But you receive the Democrat-friendly version. I believe I have proven you wrong, while you believe you have been vindicated. We’re both happy, and we can happily move on to other things, like complaining about the weather.
—Submitted by R.G.
