A Tool to Push Back on Trump's $1 Billion Lie Machine
Announcing the "Deceived Nation" project
by Jody Kass Finkel, Founder/Coordinator of Concerned Citizens of NY-03
Like many of you, I woke up November 6th with a sinking feeling in my stomach. It soon became clear that the relentless GOP lies played an outsize role both in Trump’s victory, and in down-ballot races that went red for the first time in a generation. What could any of us do to fight the rising tide of MAGA disinformation?
In early 2023, following revelations that George Santos had lied his way into Congress, a dozen activists from across NY’s Third Congressional District formed the group, Concerned Citizens of NY-03 (CC-03). We organized hundreds of people to participate in the successful effort to press the U.S. House of Representatives to expel Santos from Congress.
Could our group provide the umbrella for a new initiative to challenge MAGA disinformation? The Santos debacle proved that our community would fight back if they felt victimized by GOP deception. So we know we have the people power. But could we develop a unified message? In December 2024, a loose ‘braintrust’ of CC-03 leaders and other local activists began strategizing. We quickly realized that while it can be difficult to achieve wide agreement on policy issues, everyone understands the need for a forceful, coordinated response to the lies propagated by the MAGA arm of the GOP.
Our strategy soon coalesced: Connect thousands of individuals and groups to amplify a coordinated message, and use the CC-03 organizational structure to leverage our press relationships and our ‘get-shit-done’ reputation burnished in the 2023 campaign to oust Santos.
As word got out about this new effort, dozens of grassroots volunteers began offering their expertise, dedicating thousands of hours, valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, to build the Deceived Nation project. Website developers, graphic designers, animators, lawyers, video producers, marketing experts, organizers, lobbyists, nonprofit managers and others have channeled into Deceived Nation their angst about what Trump and his minions are doing to our country. Anchored by the DeceivedNation.com website, the project has two main components which are now getting underway:
Fact or Fiction Reports: These reports clearly outline each lie, identify the source, explain why it might be believed, present the truth (with full citations), and suggest actions that individuals can take. (See the example below.)
DN Rapid Response Team: Individuals, clubs, Facebook groups, and other organizations that amplify Fact or Fiction Reports across social media, and other communication platforms.
CC-03 officially launched Deceived Nation in April. We are currently building the Rapid Response Team to fight the lies in the November 2025 local elections in Nassau County, where MAGA officials are running for re-election based on a platform of lies, distortions, and fear-mongering. Notably, the Nassau County Executive race is one of three bellwether races to watch, alongside gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. We have two short-term goals:
Restore honesty, transparency and integrity to our local governance and elections in 2025
Defeat the MAGA GOP incumbents soundly enough to remind Republicans in Congress that lying is shameful, that silence is complicity, and that it's time they denounce their Party’s lies.
The longer term plan is to evaluate the impact of Deceived Nation on the 2025 local elections in Nassau, refine our process and structure, then deploy the Deceived Nation model in communities across the U.S. facing similar challenges with MAGA liars.
TRUMP’S $1 BILLION TO AMPLIFY LIES
Trump has already amassed $600 million and expects to spend a total of $1 billion on the 2026 midterm elections. It is likely the GOP lies will be even more outrageous and will get repeated more frequently and loudly than during the 2024 election. The Deceived Nation project offers the grassroots a tool to forcefully push back against the lies of local Republican officials. It can also expose the complicity of officials who march in lockstep with Trump and share the blame for the devastating impacts of Trump’s policies on prices, our 401(k)s, degradation of our water quality, devastating healthcare cuts, loss of hospital services, etc.
Deceived Nation Fact or Fiction Report. Blakeman's failure to stand up to extremism put Nassau residents quality of life at risk
Lying must not be normalized in our politics. Lies erode trust, and if allowed to continue unchecked, can undermine our democracy. But we are up against the GOP’s dominance in the electronic media space which enables them to amplify and reinforce their distortions and disinformation. For example, the political ad, "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you," aired more than 30,000 times in key swing states. While canvassing, phonebanking, letter-writing, postcarding, and donations remain crucial, we all must get more active in the electronic media battlefield, where most Americans get their information.
IN CONCLUSION
The grassroots may be the last bulwark against the full surrender of the truth in America’s political discourse. We all must urgently adapt to the changing nature of how we communicate with each other. Deceived Nation offers a tool to exponentially grow the megaphone of the grassroots in the battle against the normalization of lying in our politics.
To learn more or get involved:
Visit DeceivedNation.com
Read the DN Fact or Fiction reports
Sign up for the DN Rapid Response Team
Connect your group to the Rapid Response Team
Email us at info@DeceivedNation.com if you would like to help our all-volunteer effort
We need everyone, everywhere to become amplifiers.