Donald Trump wants this post removed from the internet! (Except, he doesn't)
People online often share things Donald Trump, or other disliked authority figures, "want removed". But even if you agree with the sentiment, this it's still misinformation and manipulation
I never thought I’d start an article this way, but… one of the good things about Donald Trump is, no matter how people try to present him as enigmatic, layered, or calculating, the truth is, we pretty much always know exactly what he’s thinking. Largely because he just says or posts whatever’s on his mind, at all times.
Whether it’s via his Truth Social site or on a call to Fox News, or in the middle of a crucial diplomatic conference, he can be relied on to reveal exactly what he’s thinking, completely voluntarily.
He’s also not got much of a poker face, as they say. As evidenced by his recent ‘underwhelming’ birthday military parade, resulting in his persistently grim expression.
Point is, if Donald Trump thinks or wants something, regardless of how unreasonable or unpleasant it is, the whole world gets to know about it. Which is a big part of the problem, really.
You can see why he’s widely disliked, leading to massive protests that spanned an undeniably massive country.
However, protest takes many forms. Not everyone is cut out to be part of a large crowd that may well come into physical conflict with law enforcement and the like. Others prefer to do their activism in the online world. Which is fine. The internet is where a lot of the current issues afflicting society bubbled up from in the first place, so targeting this arena is probably essential, let alone helpful.
But due to the nature of the online world, I’d argue it’s more important, not less, to do your due diligence before contributing something to the struggle.
At this point, I’ll just admit that all this is a roundabout but lofty-sounding effort to justify my railing against something that bugs me endlessly. But, I’d argue, for good reason.
Basically, given the events of recent days, I’ve seen a lot of people online posting picture of Trump’s poorly attended military parade, with a caption/title/whatever that reads “Donald Trump wants this image removed from the internet!”1
Except, he clearly doesn’t!
Whether you like the current President and his confident and combative nature, or believe he’s a geriatric manbaby with graphite-thin skin and an endless resource of irrational invective to direct at anything and everything that displeases him, it would be hard to argue that if he wanted a specific photo removed from the internet, we’d know about it. Because he’d just say so. Or one of his people would. He and they seem to be extremely fond of the dagger, while having little time for the cloak.
It’s also a far fetched claim in other ways. I’m not saying that someone like Donald Trump wouldn’t want a specific unflattering image deleted or banned. But we’re talking about a major event covered by multiple national and international networks here. The idea that one particular photo of a low turnout crowd would trigger his wrath when hours of rolling news coverage would not?
Again, as unpredictable as the current leader of the free world undeniably is, this still seems like a very long shot.
Ultimately, what’s more likely: that the original poster of the highly-shared photo has some secret access to the deep recesses of the President’s mind that allow them to uncover the secret frustrations even he is unwilling to express? Or that they’re engaging in the established and effective tactic of ‘making sh*t up’, to get people to do what they want? Personally, my money is on the latter.
Because this is actually a very common phenomenon. Someone prominent and unpopular with many people does things those people don’t like, you start seeing images of or information about them that is critical and unflattering popping up online, alongside the claim that the individual in question wants it taken off the internet.
You saw it often, for instance, during the Brexit debates in the UK, with people sharing, for example, infographics of the various financial ties of the more vocally anti-EU politicians that would mean they would lose money to tax under EU laws. A valid bit of information to share, sure, but it was often accompanied with the caption ‘[These politicians] want this removed from the internet’, or words to that effect.
Did they, though? Are people in positions of power (however abused and ill-gotten) honestly trawling through the personal feeds of countless people they don’t know and have never given any sign of caring about, and clutching their pearls in horror whenever they see a photo or detail about them that is, logically, in the public domain? To the extent that they’ll literally put pressure on, I don’t know, Google? To ‘take it off the internet’.
And while never admitting it publicly, they’ll tell enough people about their fury at this online embarrassment that it’ll spread and leak to relatively unknown people who are their ideological enemies in every way?
Let’s me be blunt; no, that is extremely unlikely. That is ‘conspiracy theory’ level reasoning.
And that’s the problem. In my humble opinion, this sort of thing is a clear and blatant manipulation tactic to drive up numbers online. Because such things are abundant on social media.
Remember years ago when you’d regularly see photos of supposed teachers2 holding signs saying “I’m trying to show my students how far an image can go online. Please share”. And people invariably would.
Do I believe this was then seized upon by people who just wanted to go viral through cynical manipulation? Also yes. Because what do you mean “Show my students how far an image can go online”? You could just email it to someone in New Zealand and have the whole thing done in seconds3.
Granted, they probably meant how far an image can ‘spread’ online. How many people beyond your own small network can end up seeing it. But, how does this prove that? What primary school teacher has the sort of access to countless individual profiles to track the distribution of a specific image in a meaningful way? And in a manner that resonates with a class full of 7-year-olds?
Again, it’s cynical manipulation. Just like how people will post things like “Bullying is bad. Share if you agree. I bet 99% of you won’t”. I’m not even kidding, that’s a real (albeit paraphrased) thing I’ve seen multiple people post. An anti-bullying message that relies on insults and aggressive, unwarranted criticism? Counterproductive, much?
But while these tricks and tactics are annoying and frustrating, I would argue it’s even worse when they’re deployed for ‘a good cause’.
Partly because, all things being equal, it’s still misinformation. Just because it’s a sentiment you agree with doesn’t change that. And call me old fashion, but if you’re claiming, as most do, that your arguments are based on evidence and reason, whilst also unthinkingly sharing misinformation and unsupported claims just because they align with what you already believe, then you’re just making things worse.
But more importantly, when you’re wanting people to resist a dangerous movement or ideology, especially one in a position of significant power and control, you’re going to need all the help you can get. And as much collaborative effort as possible.
Sharing critical information about your rivals is just standard practice, sure. But then, you opt to amplify it by saying “[Enemies in question] want this removed from the internet!” This makes the act of sharing it more significant: you’re not just spreading the message any more, you’re actively doing ‘harm’ to those you’re so opposed to. It’s Win-Win!
Except, it isn’t because you’re not. Because it’s not true. But if you feel like you’ve done something tangible, something significant, then you risk reducing your motivation to do something actually helpful. The brain has gained a sense of control, a sense of achievement, a sense of having fairness restored.
Our brains are motivated to obtain and sustain all these things. Sure, in this case their all illusory. But subjectively, it’s all the same.
In a nutshell, by adding this whole “Trump (or whoever) wants this image removed from the internet” bilge to posts, the act of sharing it can feel like genuine pushback and resistance. Except, it isn’t. It’s literally no better than sending ‘thoughts and prayers’ to victims of tragedy. It is not and cannot be of any use or benefit to them.
Likewise, sharing something your foes want ‘removed from the internet’ does them harm, in however small and insignificant a way it may be. Only, it doesn’t. Because it’s not true. They’re completely unscathed by this action.
In both instances, it achieves nothing, beyond making you, the sharer/sender/poster, feel better.
If that’s all you’re going for, fair enough I guess. But don’t kid yourself that it’s actual, genuine help, when people need exactly that.
Seriously, if I could remove anything from the internet, it’s be this sort of deeply cynical guff.
If you’re an online friend of mine reading this who posted something like this recently, then yes, I am talking about you. But not just you. Because you’re in no way alone.
Teachers who tended to be young and attractive, to an extent that would not be consistent with statistical norms.
Or, if you lived in New Zealand, send it to someone on the opposite side of the planet from there.
To quote the late great Linda Smith, let's not give them the oxygen.