The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released data showing that students in schools with masking requirements had a lower chance of contracting the virus. What’s more, Biden’s masking and vaccine mandate policies are working. As the New York Times’ David Leonhardt points out, in counties where Trump got at least 70 percent of the vote, 47 out of every 100,000 people have died from the virus, as opposed to counties where Trump won less than 32 percent and only 10 of every 100,000 have died. One of the biggest dangers of an echo chamber approach to news consumption is how bad the information is when it comes to COVID-19. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were going to ensure the filibuster remained intact so they could allow states “more time to weigh in to formally support the alternate slate of electors.” This cockamayme plan all hinged on Pence going along with it and not asking for permission, which we know he didn’t do after seeking advice from Dan Quayle. It included plans for Pence to put aside electoral votes in crucial states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Michigan under the false assertion they had sent alternate Trump electors. It turns out one of Trump’s closest legal advisers, John Eastman, prepared a memorandum to serve as guidance for former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. 6 Capitol breach doesn’t seem to have penetrated the GOP psyche. But one of the biggest shock moments regarding the Jan. The new book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa - “ Peril” - has created quite the buzz. The results didn’t stop Trump from falsely claiming that he won Maricopa County at a rally on Saturday and pressing Texas to do an audit of four counties, even though he won the state handily. Trump allies wasted nearly $6 million on the effort, which surely came as a bit of a wake-up call that their unfounded assertions of fraud are, indeed, unfounded. On the GOP side, two-thirds of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen and it may come as a big surprise to them that Trump lost Arizona again when a Republican-led review of 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County actually found 261 more votes for Joe Biden. Let’s look at some of what you missed if you live in an echo chamber. There has been a lot of ink spilled on the journalistic and media failures that lead to such moments, but what about the failures of news consumers themselves? Just looking back at the past two weeks of top news stories featured on either side’s top media highlights why the left and right are so firmly cocooned in their own worlds - and why it’s so dangerous. Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat also left millions of supporters scratching their heads, but that also was largely because Trump and high-ranking Republicans peddled the conspiracy theory that a free and fair election was somehow stolen. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss is perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon voters and pollsters alike were stunned. Depending on the election, too many voters from X party are left feeling “How did this happen?” when the results stream in, and that surprise has a lot to do with where they get their information. I have decried the effects of “echo chamber” news consumption for years.
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