http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/laura/disinfo-2025-s436.pngDisinformation spreads because people want to believe it. The nation drowning in ignorance, anger, and fake statistics that sound believable only because they confirm what people already think.

LAKE GENEVA, WI - There is a line from an old Simon and Garfunkel song that says, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” That one sentence perfectly sums up what has happened to truth in America. People don’t just fall for lies anymore. They run toward them, wrap themselves in them, and scream them from the rooftops as if ignorance is something to be proud of.

I saw one of those viral posts making the rounds online. It claimed that 43 percent of food stamps go to illegals, that 95 percent of murder warrants in Los Angeles are for illegals, and that 66 percent of births in California are to illegals on Medi-Cal. Every single one of those numbers is a flat-out lie. Not slightly off. Not debatable. Just plain false. But people keep sharing it because it fits what they already want to believe.

Here’s the truth. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for food stamps, regular Medicaid, or most federal programs. PolitiFact found that only about 15 percent of births in California involve undocumented mothers on Medi-Cal. There is no evidence that almost all Los Angeles murder warrants or half of all gang members involve undocumented people. These claims are fake, invented to stir anger and fear. And it is working.

Disinformation spreads because it feeds ego and prejudice. It gives people permission to blame someone else for their problems. It tells them they are right and everyone else is wrong. It requires no thought, no curiosity, and no effort. It is the fast food of information.

And too many Americans are stuffing themselves sick with it.

People don’t question anything anymore. They hear something that fits their bias, click “share,” and move on, thinking they have just done their patriotic duty. They haven’t. They have just become another cog in the machine that keeps ignorance alive.

This kind of willful stupidity is not harmless. It poisons our democracy. It divides communities. It makes enemies out of neighbors and turns compassion into contempt. The truth has been replaced by whatever version makes someone feel good about being angry.

If we want a future built on facts, then we have to stop rewarding lies. We have to stop confusing opinion with evidence. And we have to stop pretending that truth is something we can bend to fit our feelings.

The truth does not care what we believe. It stands there, solid and stubborn, waiting for us to grow up and face it.

Author's Note: I am so sick of seeing garbage statistics passed around like gospel. Lies dressed up as facts are poisoning this country because people don’t bother to question anything anymore. If something fits their bias, they believe it. If it feeds their anger, they share it. No checking, no thinking, no shame.

It’s time to stop rewarding ignorance. I just wrote a new blog called “The Truth Gets Lost in the Noise: How Disinformation Feeds the Willfully Ignorant.” If you’re tired of seeing false claims about immigrants, politics, or anything else being spread like wildfire, you need to read this.