The Messy Problematic of Worldview-Affirming Misinformation When Trying to Reassemble Democracy

• In Event: Disassembling Mis/Disinformation, Reassembling Democracy: Theory, Practice, and Possibilities

Abstract

This paper considers the messy “problematic” when pro-democracy folks encounter misinformation that they ideologically agree with, but that can hurt the reassembling of democracy. This analysis considers the entwined problems of information, form, structures, emotionality, and ontology (Author 7 et al., 2025) and applies it to social media posts about Trump from the summer of 2025 about a DOJ and FBI memo that stated there is no Epstein “client list”—contradicting years of speculation, especially among Trump-aligned circles. Trump dismissed the issue as a Democratic “hoax”, and even insulting supporters still demanding transparency.
Information: Commentators like Ezra Klein (NYT Opinion, 2025) have pointed out that followers of Trump perpetuated a conspiracy theory about Epstein that is now upending their worldview. Meanwhile, some understand the alleged Epstein list as a point of distraction since Trump is already known to sexually assault women, and we could simply just believe the victims about what other powerful men are on that list.
Form: TikTok posts (e.g., Cahill, 2025) have utilized a trending song about the frustration caused by someone who doesn’t realize they are wrongheaded to emphasize the logical inconsistency of Trump’s stance. How might this use of music shape understandings of the issue? A figure/ground analysis (Ciccone, n.d.; Mason, 2018) helps us ascertain things like how purpose, narrative structure, and editing can affect how we might interact with the issue.
Structures: We need to consider conspiracy narratives about pedophilia rings, largely perpetuated against Democrats (NYT Opinion, 2025). How can a political leader denounce the central conspiracy that bolstered his campaign? This stance goes completely against the grain of the MAGA conspiracy worldview. How does such discourse shape contemporary U.S. politics away from other MAGA ills such as mass deportations without due process?
Emotionality: Pedophilia and sexual abuse are highly emotional topics. While a liberal political framework would consider Trump to be part of a corrupt political elite, such a framework does not align with the MAGA cosmology that Trump is an Arthurian figure meant to bring down the evil elites (NYT Opinion, 2025). Furthermore, given our assumed audience of anti-Trump, pro-democracy folks, we might tap into processes of confirmation bias and motivated reasoning (Journell, 2024) against Trump.
Ontology: Social media posts are creating hyperrealities (Baudrillard, 1983a, 1983b)—shaping realities through engagement and consumption of posts that are disconnected from the real. How are such posts shaping the relations among MAGA supporters as well as between MAGA and Democrats? How are narratives about Trump and Epstein shaping the fabric of U.S. society, both in ways that might help democracy as well as thwart it? To what extent is the media fixation on Trump and Epstein helping or hindering justice and democracy, and the fight against billionaires? As Kittler (1999) aptly noted, “media determine our situation” (p. xxxix), and so the fight against contemporary manifestations of fascism calls us to examine media in meaningful, albeit complex, ways.

Authors

• Cathryn van Kessel, Texas Christian University

• Lex Nikola Salazar, Texas Christian University