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You would think that if anything could unite Americans, it would be a foreign attack. Think Pearl Harbor or 9/11.
Well, I got one for you: Russia and China have built a vast disinformation machine designed to weaken democracies from within and strengthen authoritarians around the world.
During Pearl Harbor and 9/11 our enemies attacked us physically. But today China and Russia are attacking us in ways that, though not physical, are more invasive, and arguably, existential.
They are trying to poison the idea of intersubjective truth, our faith in democracy, and trust in each other. Put in blunt terms, they’re trying to infect our minds in order to destabilize our culture and politics.
And they seem to be succeeding. To be fair, they don’t have to try too hard. They can just amplify our preexisting divisions. “We’re a highly polarized society.” How many times have you heard that? How many times do we repeat it to ourselves?
Around the world things are also not going very well. Democratic countries are facing a hope deficit. New York Times columnist David Brooks recently warned that “authoritarians have the momentum.” And former President Donald Trump — who is leading in swing state polling over President Joe Biden — is not our best candidate to die on the hill of democratic values.