this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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What's a common "fact" that's spread around that's actually not true and pisses you off that too many people believe it?

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[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 53 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (7 children)

"Half of Americans voted for this"

No, half the people who actually showed up to vote voted for the guy, but not necessarily all he is and has been doing. It's actually only about 20-22% or less of the population that actually voted this guy into office and fewer than that are on board with current events. Far from "half of Americans", so just stop it.

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 44 points 4 days ago (3 children)

People who didn't care enough to vote are just as bad as the ones who voted for Trump. They were warned what was coming and they allowed it

[–] Pelicanen@fedia.io 19 points 4 days ago

While voter apathy is widespread in the US, note that voter disenfranchisement has been honed over decades so many people either didn't get to vote or could not vote because the impact to them short-term was too great to afford making decisions for the long term (e.g. people losing their jobs while living paycheck-to-paycheck).

Mathematically speaking, each of them is half as bad as one Trump voter

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

Approximately half as bad, in raw outcome terms. A vote for the opponent is significantly worse than not voting. But yeah, big losers for not even voting.

No, half the people who actually showed up to vote voted for the guy

He only got 49.8% of the popular vote in 2024, so while it's close enough that most people would accept rounding up, even this statement is not factual in the most literal interpretation.

[–] Aatube@piefed.social 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

NPR: Trump would have won even if everyone eligible voted. I agree that substantial Trump voters disapprove of current events, but the truth is one in two US citizens preferred Trump over Harris on Election Day. Not to mention turnout was 64% not 42%, so it's 30% not 20%

[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

so it's 30% not 20%

Fair. I was going by population numbers vs votes cast and didn't have the voter turnout numbers handy when I originally wrote that out and was paraphrasing from that to save time.

But that's still far from half, and I'm tired of people using the misconception/phrase to justify their xenophobic rhetoric.

[–] Aatube@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

oh i thought you were referring to people saying it to illustrate how bad the system is and how important trump winning the election was lol. i definitely agree that it doesn't justify what he's doing (even if it legally stands, even if it legally stands, it doesn't stand socially)

but it is not inaccurate to say nearly half of the citizens preferred him on election day. per the link, pew research shows 48% of non-voters would've voted for trump as opposed to 45%, with a pretty high validity.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 4 days ago

it also doesnt count un-registered people, it just assume anyone of at age that can vote dint, some arnt even registered, and some are unable to vote for one reason or another that is not due to personal choice.

[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Nope. Everyone who didn't vote, voted for this...and every American who isn't out on the streets right now, fighting to end this, is silently supporting it.
The world gave Americans the benefit of the doubt in 2016, but not this time. Y'all fucked up big time, and it's your mess to clean up, so get to it.

Maybe check your facts. NPR: Trump would have won even if everyone eligible voted

Trump won in 2024 with just under 50% of the vote, 49.7%-48.2% over Democrat Kamala Harris.

Roughly 64% of the eligible-voting population turned out in 2024, the second highest since 1904. 2020 was the highest.

But even if everyone who could vote did, Trump would have won by an even wider margin, 48%-45%, according to Pew's validated voters survey

Whether it's your intent or not, the narrative you're spreading is used to dissuade folks from demanding better than the choice between a shit taco and a turd sandwhich. It affirms a shitty status quo and demands political patience in the face of a fucked up world... to the benefit of fascists and their corporate cronies.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 4 days ago

Man I like npr but its missing a lot. It says he would have won by a larger margin but he would get a lower total percentage. So its basically saying that many who did not vote would have voted for a third party as in the election it was apparent just over 2% but in the theoretical one the third party would have won 7%. Of course that is the popular voted and it does not go into where the differences were and for which side. Given the electoral college it really comes down to the swing states. In other words does the thing over the country remain the same just looking at Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Because if they had moved by less than a percent then the election would have went the other way. The real question is if the third party voters really feel the country would be just as bad under kamala as trump. like how bad they view ice and war and tarrifs and dismantling of agencies and firing of experienced people and having a ever more right supreme court and such. From what I can tell they think it would be just the same using online coments anyway.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

nah, the DNC refused to actually released the election autopsy, they know they won but they dint want to call out the rigging. 2024 was so obviously rigged by musk and other people. why should the Dem voters have to vote overwhelmingly to overcoming rigging by the republicans every time, the DINODNC are totally complicit in allowing trump a nd the gop to win the elections.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

That just reporting on one study by the pew research center. Which may be non-partisan, but they sure as hell aren't unbiased.

[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago

I don't doubt that. All i was saying was that, if you didn't vote, it was an automatic vote for what America got. I've always said that Trump isn't the hero America needed, but he's the one they deserve.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago

"We are not collectively responsible for the output of this system we collectively use to run our country". Disagree.

[–] bluGill@fedia.io -5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

A lot of people who voted for him didn't like either choice and thought he was least evil for whatever reason. We can never know how evil Harris would have been - even if she wins in the future that doesn't show what she would have been if she was in now. The situation and people change over time

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 27 points 4 days ago (1 children)

lol. we 100% could know harris would be less evil than trump. it would have been 4 more years of essentially the same administration but with a younger bend which likely would have been better. only reason people think of trump less evil than harris are ones you cheer on the ice things so they have a twisted version of right and wrong.