“Anti-Black racism is a national security threat.” Those were the simple, direct words of disinformation specialist Mutale Nkonde, CEO of AI for the People, on a listserv of journalists and academics recently. A group of us were in a vigorous debate over how much weaponized racial resentment was linked to the rise in Americans who believe the election was stolen, including domestic terrorists who helped siege the Capitol on January 6; or in people who deny science, including masks and Covid-19. Some call this split epistemic fracture or epistemological rupture — the moment where society splits into factions upholding or denying science and truth. It used to refer to the progress humans made in leaving antiquated and counterfactual beliefs behind. Now we are facing a reversal. The verdict in the impeachment trial may well deepen the rupture in America, emboldening everyone from anti-maskers to domestic terrorists.
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