Recent scholarship indicates that populist rhetoric can profoundly shape commonsense understandings of global energy crises. While scholars often depict rural, working‐class communities as objects of right‐wing disinformation, posttruths, and alternative facts, how rural communities interpret or experience populist narratives is far from adequately understood. This research examines the recent coal industry recession in coal‐producing areas of Appalachian Kentucky, which contributed to ten thousand job losses since 2010. Amid the downturn, politicians and pro‐coal lobby groups riled the public by blaming the recession on an alleged “war on coal.” This article illustrates how neoliberal disinformation underpins war‐on‐coal narratives claiming that deregulating industry is the only way communities can save the industry and access economic well‐being. Drawing from qualitative interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, I explore how war‐on‐coal disinformation becomes a commonsense explanation for many dealing with coal industry recession. While findings suggest that the war on coal “makes sense” for many living in coal‐mining communities, this does not indicate an indeterminate embrace of the industry or pro‐coal rhetoric. Communities negotiate commonsense narratives against complicated relationships with the industry, the many dangers of mining, and the challenges coal poses for alternative economic futures.

中文翻译：

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当虚假信息有意义时：将阿巴拉契亚肯塔基州的煤炭战争情境化

最近的研究表明，民粹主义言论可以深刻地塑造对全球能源危机的常识性理解。尽管学者们经常将农村工人阶级社区描述为右翼虚假信息，后真理和其他事实的对象，但对农村社区如何解释或体验民粹主义叙事的了解还远远不够。这项研究考察了肯塔基州阿巴拉契亚州煤炭生产地区最近的煤炭行业衰退，该衰退自2010年以来造成了10,000人失业。在经济低迷时期，政客和亲煤炭游说团体将衰退归咎于所谓的“战争”而激怒了公众。在煤上。” 本文阐述了新自由主义的虚假信息如何支撑煤炭战争的说法，这些言论声称，放松行业管制是社区拯救行业和获得经济福祉的唯一途径。通过定性访谈，参与者观察和话语分析，我探索了煤炭战争中的虚假信息如何成为许多应对煤炭行业衰退的常识性解释。尽管研究结果表明，煤炭战争对于许多居住在煤矿社区的人来说是“合理的”，但这并不意味着对煤炭行业或亲煤炭言论的不确定性拥抱。社区针对与行业的复杂关系，采矿的许多危险以及煤炭对替代性经济期货的挑战，谈判常识性叙述。尽管研究结果表明，煤炭战争对于许多居住在煤矿社区的人来说是“合理的”，但这并不意味着对煤炭行业或亲煤炭言论的不确定性拥抱。社区针对与行业的复杂关系，采矿的许多危险以及煤炭对替代性经济期货的挑战，谈判常识性叙述。尽管研究结果表明，煤炭战争对于许多居住在煤矿社区的人来说是“合理的”，但这并不意味着对煤炭行业或亲煤炭言论的不确定性拥抱。社区针对与行业的复杂关系，采矿的许多危险以及煤炭对替代性经济期货的挑战，谈判常识性叙述。