Smiling Faces
“Misinformation is false information spread inadvertently without the intent to harm. Unlike misinformation, disinformation is false information that is designed to mislead others and is deliberately spread with the intent to confuse fact and fiction. Identifying and combating the spread of mis- and disinformation is a major challenge in the increasingly complex information landscape of the 21st century. “ – Britannica
Numerous times over my twenty years on this forum, I have wrote about misinformation and disinformation. If I were to give one example, I think the Russian military intelligence during the 2026 presidential campaign is the best. My advice to voters is that if you do not know what happened then, avoid the internet ….. or, to quote Malcolm X, you will be carrying your umbrella on a sunny day, and getting soaked when it rains.
Misinformation is generally scattered, whereas a disinformation comes in an organized campaign, building momentum. Thus, misinformation tends to be on the edge of believable, while disinformation builds to the level someone would shot into a pizzeria. As the mid-terms approach, we will witness an increase in both. But that's not what I want to discuss today.
In times where angry builds to outrage, there is an increased risk of believing the improbable, when rational thought is overtaken by emotion. One can lose the ability to seriously examine the most dubious of claims. And that claim may not be an attempt at misinformation or disinformation. Let's consider some examples.
When I worked at the mental health clinic, the most intelligent supervisor I ever had used to talk to me about a group of people he saw. It was a half-dozen women who lived in a rural triangle with two sides about two miles long, the third a mile. Although they lived relatively close to each other, but were of different ages, and not acquainted with one another.
All six reported that when they were little, aliens kidnapped them late at night. I am convinced that all six could have passed polygraphs on their reports of being “examined” and “probed” by the aliens. This was their reality, and my supervisor said that while it couldn't be ruled out, there could be another explanation. All six carried the same diagnosis, one not uncommon for victims of childhood sexual abuse. He noted that a number of convicted adult sex offenders lived in that same rural triangle, including fathers.
Now, from everything I knew, the six women were good, honest people, carrying a yoke no human being should have placed upon them in childhood. But I think it is safe to say the offender or offenders were adult male(s) in that very rural area. And this is not related to my opinion on UFOs.
Next, because the human brain is a complex organ, it can respond to stimuli in a wide variety of ways. There are substances that may cause a person to have brief (or relatively brief, if one did the high-quality LSD of the 1960s – early '70s). There are otherwise seemingly stable individuals – frequently teenage males – who have a psychotic disorder surface after the use of these substances. With proper treatment, they can reduce potential episodes, and live quality lives. However, continued use of substances usually leads to on-going episodes of psychosis. Another related factor can be a change in medication. We may see this as the case of Rob Reiner's son unfolds.
There are other things that can result in psychosis. For teenage males in particular, it can be the death of a relative or friend, or the break-up of a relationship with a significant other. Another factor that I am familiar with is head injuries. My brother was a professional boxer. He was vicious in the ring, and won at least 80 of his 87 fights in the ring. Yet, being a short Irishman, with a short reach, he took a lot of damage, mainly in the fights he won. If an opponent clocked him a good one, he'd go berserk. A crowd favorite, of course, at a costly price.
After retiring, it was evident that his personality was changing. Despite his opposition to drinking before retiring, he caught the Irish Flu. Then pot. Then LSD. Then cocaine and heroin. There were times that I visited him, where he wasn't sure who I was. But he sure had a lot of stories about UFOs and aliens that my siblings and I knew were his delusional mind, as we had grown up with him.
I said that to say this: there are a couple stories about the felon making the rounds that are dubious to the point where logic should tell us aren't even on the level of the stories of the six “abducted” women. Indeed, they are obviously of the same type as my late brother's nonsense. Don't put common sense and rational thought aside, and let the outrage you experience at this point to trick you. And beware of the darkness of those pushing the stories, for they seek to discredit the demand for the release of the Epstein Pedo Files.
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