First "fake news," now "The Big Lie"
On Tuesday, former U.S. President Donald Trump revealed a new tab on his website that mimics the posting capabilities of Twitter – which he was banned from in January.
From the Desk of Donald Trump is a one-way communications platform that enables followers to share the former president’s post on Twitter and Facebook, despite not being able to interact with Trump directly. So far, content from the platform has been racking up thousands of shares and likes on social media.
Much like the content that resulted in Trump being banned from Twitter and Facebook at the start of the year, false and misleading narratives are a defining feature of From the Desk.
A common theme that has been revealed on the platform is the myth that the 2020 presidential election was somehow rigged or stolen.
To combat criticism against him, Trump has attempted to co-opt, or rebrand a phrase for his own purpose, to describe the previous election:
“The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!”
“The Big Lie” is a term used by Trump’s critics to describe his claim of a stolen election. By rebranding the phrase, much like he did with the term “fake news,” Trump has been successful in furthering the spread of online misinformation.
The following Google Trends graph depicts the popularity of the phrase “the big lie” from 04/28/21 to 05/05/21.
As shown in the graph, the phrase increased in popularity shortly after being posted to From the Desk. As of today, the phrase seems to be slowing in popularity after spiking.
One of the biggest dangers of co-opting this phrase to further misinformation about the 2020 election is the effect it will have on pro-Trump followers. For example, one Tweet from a pro-Trump account said, “Come on ..... let’s get #TheBigLie Trending.”
Furthermore, a recent poll of 1,004 U.S. adults revealed that 70% of Republicans do not think Biden won enough votes to be president. One might think that the rebranding of “the big lie” might work to further this narrative.
While the effects of Trump’s new publishing platform will continue to reveal themselves in the next few weeks, it serves as a reminder of how quickly misinformation spreads on social media – especially those amplified by the former president and his followers.