ALG Editor’s Note: The following commentary features Executive Director of NetRight Nation Adam Bitely and his efforts to flood the White House’s disinformation campaign email with disinformation from the White House.
My Rumor Aggregator Can Beat Up Yours
By David Nather
So that worked out well. The White House, fighting back against various disinformation campaigns now circulating in conservative circles about the health care bill, set up an e-mail address to allow sympathetic people to report e-mails or Web site claims that seem “fishy.”
“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care,” the White House said in a blog post this morning. “These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help.”
That’s one way to stop disruptive activity. There’s just one flaw with that strategy: conservative bloggers read the White House Web site too. So this afternoon, NetRightNation.com, a conservative blog aggregator site run by Americans for Limited Government, sent a mass e-mail urging “fellow bloggers” to — you guessed it — disrupt the e-mail address by flooding the inbox.
“Here is what we need to do. Email that address reporting Barack Obama for not telling the truth on Health Care,” the message stated. “Let’s try and flood that inbox with as many reports about Obama and his minions attempting to deceive the public as possible.”
It lacks some of the visual drama of other disruptions by conservative activists, such as the loud protests against the health care overhaul plans at recent Democratic town hall meetings. But it’s one more example of how widespread the mischief is.
And remember, in Washington, there is no sense of irony.