Brad Parscale helped Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he's back, and an AI evangelist
In AP's profile of Brad Parscale's AI evangelism, campaign technology is repeatedly framed as inherently superior because it is new, disruptive, and supposedly closer to what voters really want. That is exactly the kind of setting where novelty, confidence, and prestige can outrun evidence. The fallacy here is Wishful thinking: a belief or decision is driven mainly by what would be pleasing, hopeful, or comforting if true rather than by what the evidence supports. That matters here because hope can sustain action, but it does not convert possibility into evidence. A better analysis would remember that the stronger the desire, the easier it is to mistake wanting for warrant.
Associated Press · 2024-05-06
Raw milk from a California dairy is recalled after routine testing detected the bird flu virus
AP's November 25, 2024 report on raw milk recalled after bird-flu detection is a good case for arguments that romanticize the 'natural' while minimizing risk. It makes the tradeoff concrete: appeals to purity and tradition can feel reassuring even when the biological evidence points the other way. The fallacy here is Wishful thinking: a belief or decision is driven mainly by what would be pleasing, hopeful, or comforting if true rather than by what the evidence supports. That matters here because hope can sustain action, but it does not convert possibility into evidence. A better analysis would remember that the stronger the desire, the easier it is to mistake wanting for warrant.
Associated Press · 2024-11-25
How an unsubstantiated, anonymous affidavit about the ABC presidential debate was amplified online
PolitiFact's September 20, 2024 reconstruction of the fake ABC whistleblower affidavit is especially valuable because it shows how public figures shared the claim while conceding they did not know whether it was true. That is a live, well-documented case of conjecture and amplification outrunning authentication. The fallacy here is Wishful thinking: a belief or decision is driven mainly by what would be pleasing, hopeful, or comforting if true rather than by what the evidence supports. That matters here because hope can sustain action, but it does not convert possibility into evidence. A better analysis would remember that the stronger the desire, the easier it is to mistake wanting for warrant.
PolitiFact · 2024-09-20
Speculative markets, miracle-cure promises, and election-night narratives often run on the thought that a hoped-for outcome is somehow more likely because people badly want it. The fallacy here is Wishful thinking: a belief or decision is driven mainly by what would be pleasing, hopeful, or comforting if true rather than by what the evidence supports. That matters here because hope can sustain action, but it does not convert possibility into evidence. A better analysis would remember that the stronger the desire, the easier it is to mistake wanting for warrant.
Beliefs about the afterlife, destiny, or technological salvation are often defended by saying life would feel bleak without them, which speaks to desire rather than truth. The fallacy here is Wishful thinking: a belief or decision is driven mainly by what would be pleasing, hopeful, or comforting if true rather than by what the evidence supports. That matters here because hope can sustain action, but it does not convert possibility into evidence. A better analysis would remember that the stronger the desire, the easier it is to mistake wanting for warrant.
