My theory as to why so much election denialism.
I've been trying to understand how so many people can claim the 2020 election was stolen. They say there is evidence, yet none is presented. What they do present is not "evidence". Even so, what they claim does not make logical sense - for example - if conspirators went through so much trouble to make Trump lose, why not make other Republican governors or senators lose as well? And why would red states controlled by GOP governors, GOP secretaries of state, and GOP legislators for years want their party to lose? For this scheme to work, it means the Democrats are very smart and good at cheating, and the GOP is very dumb and bad at catching them. It just makes no sense.
The only rationale I see for this behavior is a conclusion in search of evidence. So why do so many people conclude Trump won without first having evidence? I think it has to do with geographic and social segregation of the two parties.
If you live in a rural county in the USA, chances are 70% of the people in town are Trump supporters. In your world, "everyone you know" voted for Trump. The only "liberals" you see you have labeled as weirdos, and you are likely to socially avoid them. You have been to Trump rallies and see enthusiasm and think that is the way the rest of the country feels. 90% of your news comes from sources that talk about all the great things Trump has done and highlight how foolish his critics are. Social media algorithms send you more and more clickbait that agrees what you previously viewed.
You conclude, therefore, that Trump could not have possibly lost, because you see little support for the other side. "How could 81 million people vote for Joe Biden? Impossible. My whole town voted for Trump!"
Now you have the conclusion that there is no way Trump lost. So, you search out for "evidence" to prove it. And you see that "evidence" everywhere because you fabricate it in your mind. Printer malfunctions become "evidence" (dang, my printer screws up 25% of the time - is that a conspiracy?) And all the evidence that disproves your conclusion you write off as part of the grand conspiracy.
It's a black hole.
The only rationale I see for this behavior is a conclusion in search of evidence. So why do so many people conclude Trump won without first having evidence? I think it has to do with geographic and social segregation of the two parties.
If you live in a rural county in the USA, chances are 70% of the people in town are Trump supporters. In your world, "everyone you know" voted for Trump. The only "liberals" you see you have labeled as weirdos, and you are likely to socially avoid them. You have been to Trump rallies and see enthusiasm and think that is the way the rest of the country feels. 90% of your news comes from sources that talk about all the great things Trump has done and highlight how foolish his critics are. Social media algorithms send you more and more clickbait that agrees what you previously viewed.
You conclude, therefore, that Trump could not have possibly lost, because you see little support for the other side. "How could 81 million people vote for Joe Biden? Impossible. My whole town voted for Trump!"
Now you have the conclusion that there is no way Trump lost. So, you search out for "evidence" to prove it. And you see that "evidence" everywhere because you fabricate it in your mind. Printer malfunctions become "evidence" (dang, my printer screws up 25% of the time - is that a conspiracy?) And all the evidence that disproves your conclusion you write off as part of the grand conspiracy.
It's a black hole.
46-50, M
