Chapter 4

When Liberals Aren’t Actually That Liberal

The Politics of Shallow Understanding

What does it mean when we support a popular social cause in a way that actually harms that cause? What is the effect on important social causes when large corporations appear to take on these values in their own branding?

In contrast to the overabundance of suspicion present in the conspiracy theories of the previous chapter, there exists an obverse form of misinformation in not being suspicious enough; in being too invested in the structures of the world and in their perfect functioning, without making space for their flaws, inconsistencies and injustices.

This chapter revisits and expands the "white moderate" described so eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he observed that "shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will", as a culturally-driven form of misinformation.

Next chapter: Trouble in the Newsroom