Dear John,

COVID is real. Widespread ballot fraud is not.

We hope the President, First Lady, White House staff, and everyone else with COVID-19 gets healthy quickly and heals completely and we hope that Trump loses in a landslide.

There’s one way through this pandemic and it’s together. All of our health is connected. When more people have COVID, we’re all at greater risk. When we act together, wearing masks, washing hands, and socially distancing, we lower the risk for everyone. You know what to do.

Yes, our President’s COVID diagnosis was quite the October surprise, but it may not be the last one. And while this one is real, others may not be.

The right-wing’s disinformation machine has been running for months and, frankly, it’s catching up to them. (Did you see Jacob Wohl was indicted and Project Veritas ballot fraud reenactment video was soundly, widely, consistently debunked?)

Yes, the President remains the Disinformer-in-Chief, but more and more Minnesotans see his lies for what they are: the desperate tactics of a losing campaign.

Still, words have consequences. When words and images are used to produce division, fear, and anger, they motivate some, but mostly they just turn people off. In fact, that’s usually the point of dog whistles and disinformation: to confuse and frustrate, to discourage and disorient.

Fortunately, we can do something about it. It’s our third strategy this election season: inoculating our friends and family.

We’re all less afraid when we know what’s coming. It’s true with scary movies. It’s true with scary elections. You can prepare yourself and others for the negative ads, disinformation, and dog whistles that some campaigns use to suppress voters.

Tell people it’s coming. Remind them what it is: it’s a tactic to suppress voters.

Here’s how you can learn more:

1) Subscribe and share ‘Protection from deception’. It’s a two-week long course, delivered over text message explaining how and why online misinformation works. It’s hosted by First Draft.

2) Subscribe and share RePUGnant: it’s a weekly email that analyzes dog whistles and disinformation circulating in Minnesota. It offers ways to respond without making the dog whistle worse. Subscribe here.

3) Practice digital discipline: Resist the urgent to re-tweet, share, comment on, or react to right-wing disinformation. It grows via engagement. Instead, post about what’s possible if we make our future together.

Ask yourself: is my share going to increase our sense of panic or our sense of possibility?

Truth is: we’ve got this. We know what we’re about. We’ve got vision. We’ve got the majority. We’ve got each other. Let’s stop doomscrolling and go win this thing.

Here's what we're reading, watching, and listening to this week:

Hold the Lines
Trump doesn’t decide who wins the election. We do. First, read this piece in the Washington Post. Second, bookmark this guide on how we hold the lines of our democracy.
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U.S. Senate
The Supreme Court power grab continues to move forward. Read more and join the We Dissent Rally this Sunday online and in-person.
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Housing
Cities are bringing back old school solutions for tenants facing eviction. Read about it in the New York Times.
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Voter Suppression
Republican operatives behind the coordinated disinformation campaign about the primary election in Minneapolis were charged with four felony offenses for voter suppression in Michigan. Read the latest.
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Post-It Dreams
Breonna Taylor should be alive, living her dreams. Read this touching piece.
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Presidential Debate
Trevor Noah finds the words when we’re speechless. Watch this clip.
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Black Grief
A powerful piece on the relentlessness of Black grief and the bereavement crisis. Read it here.
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100 Reasons
100 reasons to vote in the presidential election that don’t mention the person in office. Check it out here.
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Years of Repair
A message from the future (part 2). Watch it immediately and share.
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Kitten in a Fanny
A kitten, violin, and fanny pack. Take the edge off and watch this cutie!
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That’s a wrap. Vote this weekend or request your ballot if you haven’t already.

- Kenza Hadj-Moussa & Chris Conry







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