Debate Analysis: Facebook needs to mark Joe Biden as “False Information”

Debate Analysis: Facebook needs to mark Joe Biden as “False Information”

Op-Ed by Daniel Bobinski

I intended to write a piece titled, “A behavioral analysis of the Presidential debate,” but seeing as how it was anything but Presidential, I couldn’t bear false witness. So I decided to title it, “A behavioral analysis of the Trump-Biden-Wallace debate,” as that was more accurate. However, as I started writing, I realized the magnitude of misinformation (aka lies) spewed forth by Joe Biden could easily take up the whole column – and maybe even a book. All of Joe’s falsehoods brought to mind the “False Information” tag used by Facebook, so that’s the reason for the third title change. In my opinion, the platform online publisher known as Facebook has some work to do regarding every posted image of Biden.

However, as a certified behavioral analyst, I’ll still offer some observations on what I saw.

If you missed (or skipped) the debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Chris Wallace Joe Biden, I can tell you it was more like watching Hulk Hogan shove Willie Nelson around with Howdy Doody running interference.

Let’s start this analysis with Biden. I observed that when Chris Wallace asked questions, Joe Biden would get half a sentence out before his brain jumped the track and he started spitting out talking points – without ever answering the question. This happened over and over, and Wallace never called him on not answering the question.

It was obvious Biden was going to cough up his rehearsed talking points anyway he could.

At times, when Biden was deflecting or avoiding an answer, President Trump jumped in to do the moderator’s job. Apparently Chris Wallace is too accustomed to throwing softball questions to Democrats on his TV show and letting them answer however they want.

I also noticed Biden kept denying things Trump would bring up, repeatedly saying “That’s not true.” The problem? Biden himself was the king of “not true.” Or as Facebook would say, “False Information.” Biden spewed so many lies that I’m demanding Facebook tag every picture of Joe Biden with their “False Information” tag.

According to Biden, Trump “hasn’t lowered drug costs for anybody.”

False information. As just one example, Trump arranged for the cost of insulin to be reduced by over 66 percent. Even my left-wing friends were grateful for that. Was Joe napping in his basement when that happened?

According to Biden, the country needs to be locked down because they’re experiencing a “significant increase in Covid deaths.”

Give that the false information tag, too. Obviously Joe hasn’t seen the CDC’s website where their latest graphs show quite the opposite of what Joe said. Covid deaths are down. Way down. In fact, “Covid-related deaths” (you know – even the ones with two or more morbidities) are almost back to down to the beginning of the tracking baseline.

 

Later, Biden told us, “Antifa is an idea, not an organization.”

More false information. Antifa is an idea in the same way the Democrat party is an idea. What does an idea do with money received from Tom Steyer and George Soros?  When does an idea gather to undergo training for street fighting? Apparently Joe Biden and Jerry Nadler attend the same meetings, as Nadler believes violence from Antifa is a myth. If these guys are right, we’re witnessing myths and ideas dressed in black throwing Molotov cocktails, breaking glass, and murdering people who wear “Patriot Prayer” hats and shooting people daring to drive on public streets.

Biden also deflected a question about him not contacting mayors to help quell violence. Biden’s response was he doesn’t hold public office, implying he had no right nor reason to do so, despite an earlier statement that he “IS” the Democrat party. Then, according to Biden, the Democrat mayors of cities overrun by violence “can, in fact, take care of [the violence] if [Trump would] just stay out of the way.”

Facebook seriously needs to tag every Joe Biden photo with “False Information.” Mayors have refused offers of help from Trump and simply let the rioting continue. In fact, local mayors have told their police to stand down while their cities burned. If Joe believes such behavior is “taking care of it,” do Americans really want this guy in charge of America?

Then Joe tried to distance himself from the Green New Deal, which calls for making air travel obsolete and the elimination of cow flatulence. “I don’t support the Green New Deal,” Joe said.

Except he does. In a Biden campaign statement about climate change, we read, “Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face.”  Be sure to tag all Biden photos as “False Information,” Facebook.

Biden said there was no evidence of cheating with mail-in ballots. “False Information.” It’s already 

in Minneapolis and Wisconsin and Texas and 

I have many more, but I don't have room for a whole book.

Early in the debate, Biden said, “I’m not here to call out [Trump’s] lies; everybody knows he’s a liar.”

Hey Joe?  I’m here calling out YOUR lies – and if they didn't know it before the debate,  everybody now knows you’re a liar.

Facebook, are you listening? Your online publishing group needs to tag Biden as “False Information.”

Chris Wallace

Serving as protective cover for Joe Biden was Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace. First, as a behavioral analyst, I noted that Wallace appeared to take pleasure in telling President Trump to be quiet. But there's something more important to discuss here.

For seven years I helped run a debate club for teens, so I’m also well-acquainted with the rules of debate. Although Presidential debates are more dog-and-pony shows than formal debates, there is a rule that carries over to all debates, and Wallace was ignoring it. Essentially, that rule is: If someone brings up a topic, that topic becomes fair game for discussion by the other party.

Using the agreed-upon format, Wallace would ask a question to one of the candidates, and that candidate had two minutes to answer. The same question would then get posed to the other candidate, and he had two minutes to answer. Then they had two minutes of open discussion to debate the issue.

So here’s what I observed. Remember I said Biden’s brain kept jumping off the track and he’d rattle off talking points instead of answering the question? Wallace let that happen several times, but in the two minute “discussion” time that followed, Wallace would block Trump from countering Biden’s lies.

As just one example, when Wallace asked about race relations, Trump spent his two minutes talking about race issues. Then the question went to Biden, who stuttered for half a sentence or so about race, but soon rambled off and spouted talking points about the need for law and order.

Remember – anything Biden said should be on the table for discussion in the subsequent two minutes, but when Trump responded with facts to counter Biden’s accusations, Wallace interrupted and said they’d be talking about law and order in the next segment. And of course, the topic then went a different direction and Trump never got to respond.

President Trump

I could probably do a whole column on the dodgy behavior of Chris Wallace, but I need to squeeze in a few points about the President. Yes, he, too, made a few statements that deserve to be shot down in a fact check, but I want to make three points about Trump.

First, Trump WAY overplayed it with the interruptions. It was rude and it didn’t win him any favors except with his most die-hard base, and he’s already got their vote. For viewers who don’t pay much attention to politics, if they tuned in they saw the President consistently interrupting and talking out of turn, they’d probably be turned off.

Second, the President interrupted both Biden and Wallace way too many times.

Yes, I repeated myself there for a reason. His interruptions were not needed. I get that Trump’s strategy was probably to push Biden to his limit, but that could have been done while sticking closer to protocols.

Point three: I thought the President did a good job of nailing Biden to the wall when he challenged him to name one law enforcement organization who supported him. Biden couldn’t do it, and frankly, his body language showed “defeat” loud and clear.

Biden’s body language also showed defeat when Trump nailed him about pushing for the Logan Act to be used against General Flynn. The key, I thought, was these topics were brought up at the end of the debate, after he'd worn Biden down. It was kinda like watching Willie Nelson getting body slammed by Hulk Hogan, and all Howdy Doody could do was sit there.

Closing thoughts

As I mentioned up front, this was not a Presidential debate; it was the Trump-Biden-Wallace debate.

I thought it was most unbecoming for Biden to call the President a racist toward the end of the debate. That was yet another Biden lie and it was low class. Facebook – remember, you need to mark all Joe Biden images with your “False Information” tag.

However, extracting all the drama and examining the content of what the men said, most people say Trump won. Even Spanish viewers gave Trump a thumbs up, with 66% saying he won.

Imagine what those numbers might have been had Trump not interrupted quite so much.

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Daniel Bobinski, M.Ed. is a certified behavioral analyst, best-selling author, corporate trainer, executive coach, and columnist. He’s also a veteran and a self-described Christian Libertarian who believes in the principles of free market capitalism – while standing firmly against crony capitalism.

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