You could see it happening in real time. Flailing as returns indicated President Trump won Florida with a heavy assist from the state’s Hispanic population, pundits and journalists landed on “disinformation” as their explanation for Joe Biden’s underperformance.
The congealing argument is that GOP efforts to connect Biden with socialism amounted to a “disinformation campaign.” In reality, those efforts were just part of a normal campaign. The Democratic Party has obviously welcomed open “democratic socialists” into its ranks in the years since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gave Hillary Clinton a run for her money in the 2016 presidential primary.
Indeed, some of the party’s most high-profile leaders identify as democratic socialists. Those are people who hold influence over Biden’s party and could be given leadership roles in his administration. It’s also not a terrible stretch to say advocating for significant federal takeovers of certain industries, health care included, is socialism.
Painting your opponent’s policies in the worst possible terms is a normal part of campaigning. That always involves some gymnastics. Virtually every single piece of campaign material from every single Republican and Democrat could constitute “disinformation” if the definition is broadened to this ridiculous extent. Biden himself did this during the Democratic primary.
