Infowars are so powerful, and we're so ill-prepared to meet them.
Yesterday, I was struck by how much media illiteracy reigns. How gullible we still are in every news cycle.
Is it genuine?
Or do people know full well what they're weaponizing?
That's the kind of despair infowars breed.
One no longer knows if one's neighbours are being honestly manipulated or eager participants in their own manipulation.
All one knows is that propaganda reigns, and has made the world unsafer yet again.
@MLClark I watched over the weekend a documentary about William Randolph Hearst. I don't think most people realize that the "fake news" from Fox and similar ilk are nothing new. Hearst was doing it 125 years ago.
As does Rupert Murdoch, Hearst didn't care who he hurt or what war he started, so long as he made money from it. Like #Trump, he was a sociopathic narcissist.
For those with an interest:
As of late, there's been pushback on a myth around Hearst that also reflects the problem today. In modern histories, Hearst is set up as a singular purveyor of misinfo, because having one big puppet master absolves us of personal responsibility.
Unfortunately, the truth is that many journalists of the era were *very eager* to embellish to further their careers.
That there was ever an era of "good" journalism is a bit of a myth. Most of the time, we've been sifting through lies.
@MLClark American newspapers got their start around the turn of the 19th Century, supporting the early political parties. The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalists to suppress criticism by the Democratic-Republicans.
You're right, the notion of an honest and accurate press is a fairly recent one. Murrow and Cronkite are venerated today, but even they made editorial choices.
We as a people need to do better about rational thinking and reasoned conclusions.
@MLClark BTW, Hearst was on my mind because we toured Hearst Castle a few weeks back. When I mentioned "Citizen Kane," the staff always wanted to change the subject.
There's very little negative about Hearst at the Castle. It's run by the State of California, but I suspect the Hearst family still has a say and some influence.