580
submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Mainstream politicians express alarm while lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt welcomes congratulations from Elon Musk

Mainstream politicians around Europe have expressed alarm after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) swept to a historic state election victory in Germany, while nationalist figures cheered the result as a mandate for change.

While falling just short of an absolute majority, the AfD surged into first place in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, exit polls ⁠showed, putting the far right within reach ​of power at ‌the state level for ‌the first time since the second world war.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Humans learn. Really well, actually, which is part of the problem. Humans have metadeveloped knowledge such that we can believe things that aren't true, or are only partially true, in order to manipulate views of reality. Our own emotions can drive faithful, real beliefs that warp reality.

We do learn, pedantically. That is not necessarily the problem.

The reason I'm inclined to chime in here, pedantically, is because I think it's important to try to correctly identify the problem. Yes, "humans never learn" in subtext is true. But, because of how far telecommunications have developed, and now with AI and state sponsored psyops and all of that, we have to be better than the old statements like "humans never learn", which, I believe, at this point, equates to a vague, overwhelming and demotivating thought ending cliche.

Maybe, instead, say, "we must learn to overcome this", because at least there, while still vague, presents a problem to be identified and solved, rather than pessimistically Eeyore'ing.

We CAN do this, it just requires an intellectual vigilance and moral deliberation unlike we (humanity) have not seen in a long, long time.

this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
580 points (98.8% liked)

World News

58673 readers
2158 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world

Ask Historians !askhistorians@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS