Does PD need a host? [View all]

Hello, my name is Matthew, and I'd like to nominate myself as the Propaganda Debunking Group Host.

First, we have to ask the question, "does this group need a host?" I believe the answer is, "it'd probably be a good idea." I think that the most important duty of the host will be enforcing the Statement of Purpose of the group, which states, "Discredit and or refute right-wing propaganda disseminated via e-mail, newspaper, 527 organizations, and broadcast media." To me, this means that, while we can remain flexible in our definitions on what constitutes "propaganda", we also have to clearly delineate between Americans For Prosperity mailers (obviously propaganda), and posts that begin, "Uncle Jakob said this and this about President Obama during Shabbat last week; is it true?" (clearly not propaganda). Also, I believe that a group host will have to make a distinction between propaganda and rumours, and decide whether the latter has a place in this group. For example, does a facebook status message count? What if it's being passed around or becoming popular? Does it count if it's not put into print? All of these are topics a Group Host will have to take into consideration.

Second, I'd like to present my qualifications. I've been debunking urban legends, political releases, and outright lies for well over a decade as a member of the Snopes community. I have a great deal of experience in research, I have access to numerous resources through my university's library and archives, and my Google-fu is honed and precise. I also like to think I have a great BS detector, and a firm grasp on logic and reality (which is why I'm a flaming liberal ).

I hope that this post engenders a good conversation about the purpose and boundaries of this group, and that you will consider me as the first Group Host for Propaganda Debunking. If elected, I promise to be fair but strict, flexible yet firm, and some other good adjectives that are opposites.

In all seriousness though, and putting aside the speech-making, I think that PD needs a Group Host primarily to help define what our boundaries should be, and to keep this group from devolving into an endless parade of "my hairdresser tweeted something bad about VP Biden" posts.

Oswego "And don't forget: I'm also awesome" Atheist