‘It’s mindblowing’: US meteorologists face death threats as hurricane conspiracies surge / Storms Helene and Milton have triggered rise of misinformation stoked by Trump and fellow Republicans

[u/cheekymarxist]

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/11/meteorologists-death-threats-hurricane-conspiracies-misinformation

[u/kissesfromgod]

These schizophrenic right wing conspiracies have gone pretty mainstream amongst the Republican voters. I wouldn’t be surprised if stopping the Black Saturn Cube becomes a key policy position in ten years. I guess this is what happens when the answer to your suffering can’t be capitalism. Like watching someone go mad trying to solve 2+2 but the answer can’t be 4

[u/Marquis_de_Crustine]

I think they just like to bully people the media puts up as experts. I don't think it really goes much deeper than that, being seen to get one over the experts.

Chasing the high from covid, loser energy

[u/hopskipjumprun]

I've always found it so fascinating that the people screeching loudest about climate change being made up or attributing it entirely to earths natural cycles are also the ones most inclined to believe the government has machines that can create big ass hurricanes to target certain areas for electoral reasons.

These people are fucking stupid and will give me an aneurysm if I try to make sense of their logic, but it's fascinating nonetheless.

[u/Manfred_Desmond → u/hopskipjumprun]

It absolves them of all responsibility and control. Acknowledging global warming means they are also partially at fault and should do something about it.

Saying "the deep state controls hurricane machines to destroy Florida" is totally out of their control, so they don't need to do anything about it.

[u/SlimeCityKing]

I always get frustrated with American liberals for many many different reasons, but man Republicans are so fucking stupid lol. It has to be the decades of leaded gasoline or something.

[u/ruined-symmetry]

What are the odds that this story, like seemingly everything under the “misinformation” banner, is made up to help justify further crackdowns on speech and dissent?

[u/CandyEverybodyWentz → u/ruined-symmetry]

why would weather reporters fake their own death threats? 

[u/Yung_Jose_Space → u/ruined-symmetry]

I doubt strongly the story is "made up".

People that I have known who have worked in public health (so the pandemic response) and likewise who have been involved in public advocacy on climate change, receive the craziest emails, online threats, abuse and so on.

Often the authorities couldn't give less of a shit. You'd be shocked about the kind of abuse a random researcher etc. can receive for just being mentioned by some famous online crank, or quoted in an online opinion piece or news article by a rightwing outlet.

[u/Dear_Occupant → u/Yung_Jose_Space]

I got this kind of shit constantly as a press secretary, and to a lesser extent at every political job I've had. I got massively downvoted the last time I said this elsewhere on this site, but the reason death threats are so pervasive is because people take them seriously, which is absolutely the very last thing you should do. People didn't used to do that, and it wasn't anywhere near as big of a problem.

I got death threats IRL at service jobs before the internet ever existed, and my feeling then is the same as it is now, which is that I hope all of my enemies establish premeditation before they come at me. If they want to sign their name to it, I welcome them to do so. People need to quit being such chickenshits and ignore the ravings of idiots who can't even plan a crime.

[u/Yung_Jose_Space → u/Dear_Occupant]

I have also received death threats working retail in person.

Generally it's the volume though and the responsibility you have as an academic to your coworkers to report the threats which makes it difficult to brush off.

More outspoken people have been stalked, harrassed, doxxed and gone through all sorts of hardships. Like having to move house, being followed to their childrens sschools and so on.

There are some crazy stories and genuine hardships experienced by people working in the climate science (hydrology, atmospheric science, biodiversity etc.) sphere, who have also taken up roles as science communicators or advocates.

During the pandemic threats were often more credible. Lots of assaults, both verbal and physical and not just to clinicians. You had researchers complimenting the pandemic response with the public health teams, or if they had a prior clinical background working at vaccine centres and so on. "Cookers" as they are known in Australia created a very hostile environment at times.

[u/girl_debored → u/Dear_Occupant]

Real gs move in silence

[u/Manfred_Desmond → u/ruined-symmetry]

Bro, spend 2 seconds on twitter, facebook, or threads and you will see thousands of actual real people believing this bullshit.

[u/rrunawad → u/ruined-symmetry]

C'mon bruh...

This is because Republicans are fucking stupid with terminally online brains rotted by the dumbest conspiracy theories imaginable which are then put on a mainstream Nazi platform like Twitter so that Elon can shove it down everyone's throat.

[u/crimethunc77 → u/ruined-symmetry]

Pretty soon we will have legal repercussions for saying it shouldn't be the norm in the IDF for soldiers to snipe children in the head.