Truth and falsehood. I encourage all of us to think long, hard, and to look with a critical eye at what we share via media platforms and other mediums. Both in terms of what we write but also in terms of articles and images that we pass on. There is a general assumption that if its in the news then its true. That is absolutely false. Whether it is bad reporting, heavily influenced opinion pieces or an outright lie, the news is far from accurate. Add to those problems our egos and you get a lethal mix. Take as an example state and non state actors who are attempting to influence the media and the masses. Whether it is lobbying firms pushing outlets to investigate certain pieces or to slant articles certain ways or it is our own government that does not allow certain information to be released and disseminates certain misinformation that serves its own ends whether true or not. Then you have the intelligence services who literally are putting out pieces for certain political and military ends. Not too long ago part of what Edward Snowden released became available including an explanation of how the security services used false news stories online to discredit certain people. The information he released highlighted the national security apparatuss use of social science models to influence communities bringing them together when it served certain interests and splitting them apart when it served other ends. Even if our sources are free from the corruption and ill intent of other human actors there is always our egos and our own interests and the darkness that we might be spreading in sharing that which serves no positive interest of light. Watching our many communities gather and split online is a microcosm of the bigger picture globally. The medium that is social media and the internet more broadly coupled with news articles and opinion pieces has shown me just how much harm can befall our community from our lack of critical and spiritual analysis.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:32:54 +0000
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