So, about that RFK Super Bowl ad...
Plus, announcing the J29 Coalition
While the Super Bowl is technically about football, the commercials have become a spectacle all their own. This year’s commercials—which, according to the Wall Street Journal, cost $7 million for a 30 second spot—included a controversial ad about Jesus, a Ben Affleck-Tom Brady-Matt Damon triumvirate, and a spot for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The ad is notable for mimicking the style of his uncle’s 1960 advertisement. But those with keen eyes and ears may have noticed the fine print as the commercial concluded, with text and a voiceover telling viewers that “American Values 2024 is responsible for the content of this advertising.”
To be clear, American Values 2024 is a different entity than your humble American Values Coalition. Indeed, AVC had nothing to do with the ad, and has nothing to do with RFK’s longshot bid for the presidency. Doing so would not only run afoul of AVC’s 501(c)3, nonprofit status, but given RFK’s propensity for conspiracism and misinformation, it would also contradict our organizational mission.
Glad we cleared that up.
What Else We're Reading
Time: “America’s Becoming Less Religious. Is Politics to Blame?”
For the past few decades, sociologists and political scientists have demonstrated across multiple studies that as Christianity has become increasingly aligned with right-wing conservatism and the Republican Party, Americans who might have otherwise identified as Christians on surveys are now identifying as “nothing in particular” or “none.” The conclusion many seem to be drawing is “If this is what it means to be religious, count me out.”
This is particularly the case among young people, who often hold left-leaning political views. In their award-winning book Secular Surge, Notre Dame political scientist David E. Campbell and his co-authors used experiments to show that when young Americans who leaned toward the Democratic party were shown examples of politicians making Christian nationalist statements or pastors endorsing conservative political candidates, those young people were more likely to disaffiliate from religion. They literally changed their religious identity to nothing.
Wall Street Journal: “How Bad Is Social-Media Misinformation Going to Get?”
Americans should know better than to get their news from social media. According to Pew, 50% of Americans use social media as a news source sometimes or often. Social-media companies’ responsibility isn’t to deliver fair news coverage—their aim is to make money by keeping users on their sites. Social-media news “influencers” have capitalized on this model by condensing complex new stories into brief sound bites with an ideological slant that favors their narrative.
For some influencers, the goal isn’t to find the truth but to embellish and manipulate information in a way that discredits opponents. This often rage-inducing content draws users into an algorithmic bias, leading to similar content appearing in their feeds. As a result, Americans are becoming less open-minded. Emotionally charged arguments have become the norm. Facts and logic have been thrown to the wayside.
PBS: “How AI-generated misinformation threatens election integrity”
it's not that A.I. hasn't been used before in past elections, but it's that A.I.-generative tools are now more widely available, and they're much more sophisticated. So the A.I. threats in 2024 include things like robocalls that can clone a voice, phishing e-mails that replicate official templates, increasingly realistic deepfake video and photography, and then spoof accounts impersonating officials, offices, and news outlets.
So the point is that, unlike 2016, A.I. is now faster, cheaper, easier to make because of the widely available generative A.I. tools.
Jess Piper: “Daddy Died a MAGA”
My dad and I grew apart quickly—like, lightning speed. Every time I talked to him, he ranted about dead people voting or some deep state scheme. My dad was sick with a chronic illness, but I could barely talk to him without getting off the phone feeling sick myself. He became a raging misogynist before my eyes saying awful things about Hillary, but it was never based in reality. I mean, there are reasons to dislike Hillary, or anyone else for that matter, but he was talking Pizza-Gate nonsense and trying to figure out code from her emails.
I started avoiding him and skipped visits even though I knew his health wasn’t the best — that’s on me and I still regret it. I just couldn’t stand to see his brain rotting in front of me and his new political opinions on everything from abortion to immigration enraged me. We used to talk about his dogs, his travel, and his work. He was now ranting about locking folks up and welfare abuse and pedophiles.
Something Brand New for Pastors!
Are you a Christian pastor or ministry leader who has experienced political and cultural divisions in your church and community? Are you concerned about increasing polarization in an election year? AVC has a new project especially for you!
J29 Coalition will help you disciple your congregation through our current challenges by connecting you with experts on these topics and putting you in fellowship with other pastors experiencing the same challenges. Our first J29 Cohort starts in April and is limited to 50 pastors. We'll meet online throughout the year and at an expenses paid trip to Chicago in September. To learn more, sign up on our email list and join one of our online informational sessions on Feb. 20 at 1pm Eastern or Feb. 20 at 11:30am Eastern.
these words were particularly poignant to me: “And this is why I think it so important to warn others…your memory is all you leave. That’s it. You are what you say and the way you make others feel. Nothing else matters.”