Voters must learn to understand election marketing

Facial expressions aside, does anyone really believe that President Donald Trump telling Vladimir Putin to "stop interfering in our elections" will have any effect?

As long as there exists a global media network that is "open" and "free," we will be subjected to the opinions, positions and policies espoused by anyone with a keyboard or a cellphone. And trying to authenticate the origin of those opinions will continue to be virtually impossible.

Our energy and resources would be better spent educating American voters to the presence and influence of "marketing." Major corporations spent billions annually on marketing (advertising) because they know it works. All the "nasty" foreign actors, the super PACs and even the candidates themselves will continue their efforts to "influence" (our elections).

Voters simply need to understand and accept that everything they see, read or hear may not be true or from a "reliable" source and govern their behavior accordingly.

Martin Dettmer

Wheaton