This age of misinformation is truly perplexing. What a mind trip. It is so confusing and confounding. It is crazy-making. It comes right out of the story books, 1984, or Harry Potter's Office of Misinformation in the Ministry of Magic.
It's our New Orwellian Reality.
First came the fake news. Obvious satire like The Onion gave way to complex fake news sites from people who like to write and make up stuff. I guess there's money to be made there. As was true all along in the information age, people read and believe what they read on the internet. One such writer, who made a lot of money in the fake news industry, believes that due to his fake news, he may be irresponsible for the election results. See an article here.
What is also concerning, is that it appears that we can be manipulated into reading what others --potentially powerful others-- want us to read. Big data and psychometrics are being used to analyze us, practically down to the color of our socks. There is a lot of information out there about each of us, even without the obvious Silver Platter o' Personal Information that is Facebook. And people are using it to feed us stuff. This is a long article, but really worth digesting. Scary, scary shit.
(As an aside, I took part in the analysis the article linked to. The analysis they did with only 29 of my public Facebook "likes" pegged me to a "T" -- it was astounding)
And then there is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency of us all to search for, attend to. and interpret information that confirms our beliefs. Read about confirmation bias in this good article about it, or on Wikipedia. We are all influenced by confirmation bias, but my hope is that if we read and learn about it and become aware, we may be able to combat it in our attempts to become better informed citizens.
How much do you think you are influenced by confirmation bias? Take a quick test here.
Add fake news to confirmation bias, mix in some disdain and dissatisfaction, top with a dollop of force-feeding by outside forces, and you have a recipe for disaster, served up hot on November 8, 2016.
And then..... And then.....
Most troubling of all......
The gas-lighting.
There are outright LIES. LIES from Bannon's Bitch and his minions. There is so much misinformation, deception, and fabrication flowing directly from that elvish-mark’d, abortive, rooting hog that it makes your ears bleed.
It's too depressing, and frankly overwhelming, to try to outline all the lies from just the first two weeks since Inauguration Day. (Gawd, as I write this, it's only been two weeks. TWO WEEKS. It feels like a lifetime.) There are plenty of sites that keep track. If you have a strong stomach, and a lot of time, you can read about Li'l Adolph's lies, including plenty of lies you don't even know about. Here are a few sites that keep track:
Politifact.com
Buzzfeed.com
thestar.com
Since the election, TeenVogue has come into the role of media hero. Who knew?! Go, TeenVogue! Here is one excellent article about the gas-lighting of America by Hair Hitler. The writers at Teen Vogue are calling it like it is. Good for our girls. Good for us.
(Look to TeenVogue for fact-checkig, too!)
It is emotionally and psychologically exhausting to be confronted with lies at such frequency and intensity. SCROTUS really does want to discredit the Press. This is terrifying. People are starting to believe that all news is fake news. SCROTUS wants to smear responsible journalists. The Press is us, the public. They are our eyes and ears. By bashing the press, SCROTUS is attacking each of us. It is astounding and alarming.
Another Catch-22: Repeating a lie, even with the statement, "SCROTUS's claims of rainbows flying out of his butt has no evidence" gives the lie legitimacy and makes the lie easier to remember. So, how do we refute it? It's enough to make a person absolutely nuts. For an interesting analysis of this phonomenon and the psychology of being bombarded with lies, read this article from POLITICO.
But sometimes you really do gotta laugh to keep from crying. Or going crazy. Saturday Night Live to the rescue.
Buck Fuglie is not only challenging the veracity of the press (don't like the story or the poll numbers? Make up your own!), but even fact-checkers like Snopes.com are falling into the trap of "suspect" sites. Factcheck.org fact-checked allegations about snopes.com and found that snopes.com is on the up-and-up, apolitical, and unbiased. Yet, I see over and over comments on Facebook that say, "Snopes.com itself has a problem with the facts" -- from right-wingers. sigh. The nightmare Catch-22 continues. It is sickening.
Of course SCROTUS and the Office of Misinformation that want the public to mistrust even the trusted sources. It's a horrible, rising wave of ugly deception.
What can we do?
Consume Healthy Media. Be aware that there is "fake news" on both sides. There is a good source for sorting out bias and fake stuff. Look for the broccoli and beans of the media sources. Reject the Doritos and Cheez-Whiz. That stuff ain't healthy. Here are sources that can help sort out fake news:
FakeNewsWatch.com
Snopes.com
This image made its rounds on Facebook. It may be a good starting point.
I submit that print journalism is a different kind of journalism than 24-hour news-ertainment, with it's churning vortex of spin, speculation and s'pundits. Turn off the TV and pick up a newspaper. OK, if you must, read a trusted newspaper on-line. But really. Go to the end of your driveway in the morning, pick up the newspaper, and read it. Every day. And go talk to your co-workers, friends, and neighbors about what your read.
The upside to this fiasco is that perhaps we'll have a better-informed populace in the end. If enough of us understand these issues and work to overcome them, maybe we'll have an improved collective knowledge. Maybe young people will be inspired to become journalists. Maybe print journalism will have a resurgence.
Given the complexity of this mix of fakery, bias, and lies, in addition to the fact that we are also fed information that tries to manipulate us, in the most pervasive ways, it is imperative that we stay alert, read and learn. We need to work hard to be open-minded enough to let many sources of information in.
What can you do?
Avoid Being Fooled.
Read. A lot. Question what you read. Be aware of the source of what you read. Check other sources. Check with fact-checking websites. Talk to people in real life about issues. Carefully consume information on the internet. Subscribe to a newspaper. Support the freedom of the press. Believe in science. Think critically. Step out of your comfort zone and read viewpoints from "the other side." Read for information, not confirmation. Be skeptical. THINK FOR YOURSELF.
And when confronted by untruths, speak up. Say it's hogwash. Give sources. Put them in their place.
Be a better citizen.
Oh. And that gorgeous woman at the top of this page? That's a man. Beautiful deception. I want more of that kind.
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