FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
July 7, 2021
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
New Report: The Big Lie Persists in the GOP Base
Republican legislators’ efforts to distance themselves may be too little, too late
MICHIGAN – A new report compiled by Progress Michigan analyzes social media posts from local Republican parties across the state to illustrate just how prevalent the Big Lie remains in the Michigan Republican Party. Despite efforts by state legislators and other prominent Republican officials to distance themselves from the conspiracy theories they helped amplify earlier this year, it may be too late for them to contain the rot and corruption that has taken hold of the GOP infrastructure.
“After more than six months of bogus election hearings and efforts to amplify conspiracy theories, Republican lawmakers like Ed McBroom and Mike Shirkey are now trying to distance themselves from the Big Lie,” said Sam Inglot, deputy director of Progress Michigan. “But as this report shows, their tepid attempts to undo the damage the Big Lie has done to their party come too late to contain the spread of racist and undemocratic conspiracy theories in their base. Republican lawmakers and high-level officials have had countless chances to push back against the lies perpetuated by Trump and his allies and the violence that has resulted—but instead, they helped the disinformation spread. GOP leaders opened Pandora’s box last November, and they have only themselves to blame for the effect the Big Lie has had on their party.”
The full report is available here. Some highlights include:
- 64 percent of county Republican Party Facebook pages have alluded to a “stolen” election, massive voter fraud, or the need for an election audit since November 3.
- 98 percent of active county Republican Party Facebook pages—those that tend to post on at least a weekly basis—have made posts alluding to the Big Lie.
- The activity surrounding the Big Lie isn’t limited to social media posts, as much of the content in the report includes calls for supporters of the Big Lie to participate in real-life events.
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