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Amor Mundi

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Real on Some Deeper Level

Roger Berkowitz
10-13-2024

Hannah Arendt’s analysis of racism and antisemitism understands them as fundamentally secular ideologies that blame racial or religious minorities for the problems of the world. In the case of antisemitism, the ideological blaming of Jews as the key to all the world’s evils is almost always associated with the hatred of the state and the government. Since Jews were often given protections by the government and since historically Jews had worked with the governments of Europe, anger against the perceived corruption of the state was magnified and intensified by blaming the Jews. One can’t understand the ideological intensity of the lies and conspiracy theories supporting modern antisemitism absent the hatred of the state. For that reason, it is important to understand how much of the ideological movements sweeping the country and the world right now are predicated on a fundamental hatred of the state and the government. From Qanon which argues that the government is run by pedophiles to insistent claims that the government is comprised of Marxists and  rootless cosmopolitan elites, and from the disdain for the justice department and the civil service, the rising ideological hatreds of immigrants, Jews, blacks, and other minorities today is tied to a nihilistic desire to destroy what is seen to be a corrupt and evil state. Much of this hatred of the state stems from the right. Most of it. But we should also understand that the rise of left-wing antisemitism is inseparable from the ideology of post-colonial settler colonialism that sees the United States and Israel as unjust colonial states existing on stolen land. In this narrative, the illegitimacy of these governments leads to an increasing ideological hatred of all oppressors, read mostly as white people and Jews. Such claims are factually inaccurate and ignore the fact of colonial rule by countries all over the world, but they have become part of an ideological movement that flames left-wing antisemitism. Right wing antisemitism, just as real and often more dangerous, sees Jews as the powers beyond every governmental policy that is disliked, especially immigration. Charlie Warzel chronicles the wild rhetoric now emanating from the right wing about the horrors of our government. 
 

"Even in a decade marred by online grifters, shameless politicians, and an alternative right-wing-media complex pushing anti-science fringe theories, the events of the past few weeks stand out for their depravity and nihilism. As two catastrophic storms upended American cities, a patchwork network of influencers and fake-news peddlers have done their best to sow distrust, stoke resentment, and interfere with relief efforts. But this is more than just a misinformation crisis. To watch as real information is overwhelmed by crank theories and public servants battle death threats is to confront two alarming facts: first, that a durable ecosystem exists to ensconce citizens in an alternate reality, and second, that the people consuming and amplifying those lies are not helpless dupes but willing participants.

Some of the lies and obfuscation are politically motivated, such as the claim that FEMA is offering only $750 in total to hurricane victims who have lost their home. (In reality, FEMA offers $750 as immediate “Serious Needs Assistance” to help people get basic supplies such as food and water.) Donald Trump, J. D. Vance, and Fox News have all repeated that lie. Trump also posted (and later deleted) on Truth Social that FEMA money was given to undocumented migrants, which is untrue. Elon Musk, who owns X, claimed—without evidence—that FEMA was “actively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services locally and locking them away to state they are their own. It’s very real and scary how much they have taken control to stop people helping.” That post has been viewed more than 40 million times. Other influencers, such as the Trump sycophant Laura Loomer, have urged their followers to disrupt the disaster agency’s efforts to help hurricane victims. “Do not comply with FEMA,” she posted on X. “This is a matter of survival.”

The result of this fearmongering is what you might expect. Angry, embittered citizens have been harassing government officials in North Carolina, as well as FEMA employees. According to an analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an extremism-research group, “Falsehoods around hurricane response have spawned credible threats and incitement to violence directed at the federal government,” including “calls to send militias to face down FEMA.” The study also found that 30 percent of the X posts analyzed by ISD “contained overt antisemitic hate, including abuse directed at public officials such as the Mayor of Asheville, North Carolina; the FEMA Director of Public Affairs; and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.” The posts received a collective 17.1 million views as of October 7.

Online, first responders are pleading with residents, asking for their help to combat the flood of lies and conspiracy theories. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that the volume of misinformation could hamper relief efforts. “If it creates so much fear that my staff doesn’t want to go out in the field, then we’re not going to be in a position where we can help people,” she said in a news conference on Tuesday. In Pensacola, North Carolina, Assistant Fire Chief Bradley Boone vented his frustrations on Facebook: “I’m trying to rescue my community,” he said in a livestream. “I ain’t got time. I ain’t got time to chase down every Facebook rumor … We’ve been through enough.”

It is difficult to capture the nihilism of the current moment. The pandemic saw Americans, distrustful of authority, trying to discredit effective vaccines, spreading conspiracy theories, and attacking public-health officials. But what feels novel in the aftermath of this month’s hurricanes is how the people doing the lying aren’t even trying to hide the provenance of their bullshit. Similarly, those sharing the lies are happy to admit that they do not care whether what they’re pushing is real or not. Such was the case last week, when Republican politicians shared an AI-generated viral image of a little girl holding a puppy while supposedly fleeing Helene. Though the image was clearly fake and quickly debunked, some politicians remained defiant. “Y’all, I don’t know where this photo came from and honestly, it doesn’t matter,” Amy Kremer, who represents Georgia on the Republican National Committee, wrote after sharing the fake image. “I’m leaving it because it is emblematic of the trauma and pain people are living through right now.”

Kremer wasn’t alone. The journalist Parker Molloy compiled screenshots of people “acknowledging that this image is AI but still insisting that it’s real on some deeper level”—proof, Molloy noted, that we’re “living in the post-reality.” The technology writer Jason Koebler argued that we’ve entered the “‘Fuck It’ Era” of AI slop and political messaging, with AI-generated images being used to convey whatever partisan message suits the moment, regardless of truth.

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