Conservative media figures have wasted no time spreading false information about Democratic presidential candidates to scare people online away from voting for them.
Pro-Trump provocateur Charlie Kirk recently took to Twitter with a viral tweet "breaking down" why people would actually make less money under Bernie Sanders's tax plan, even with a $15 minimum wage.
Anyone with basic math skills and knowledge of the U.S. tax system could easily see how wrong Kirk was, however.
Reddit user beerbellybegone posted a picture showing exactly how Kirk was wrong, step by step.
Kirk's misleading take was made possible by misunderstanding tax brackets, associating unrelated concepts and straight up lying about the details of Bernie Sanders's tax plan.
Wait, someone pro-Trump lying?
Oddly, people weren't shocked that Charlie Kirk spread "alternative facts" online.
Again.
A few Charlie Kirk fans inadvertently called themselves out for believing the misinformation.
Unfortunately, false "facts" are a major weapon in modern political conflict.
Charlie's attack on Sanders was pretty unflattering to anyone who knew what was going on.
It's more important than ever that everyone online pays attention to the information they consume and be on the lookout for malevolent actors trying to mislead us.
The book The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience is available here.
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Ronald Grump the Muppet in 1988; Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump in 1994; Donald Grump in 2005PBS
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