The more I see, the more I think that as a society we need to find ways to counter organized disinformation.
In the 90s there were programs on CBC like Street Cents - how effective were those programs in helping arm people with tools needed to pick up on the misleading advertising of that era, and would something similar be helpful today?
@shadowpages oh, & sesame street. to counter all the negative & build more empathy, compassion & understanding for us at a young age.
sesame street got me thru a very abusive childhood. it set me up to be a resilient but also kinder human being rather than the bitter one i could have been.
we need more sesame street!!!
@shadowpages This is something I think about a lot. Still formulating a couple of blog posts and this one is on my list. Jacques Ellul claimed that there could be "good Propaganda" (oragnized disinformation) Personally the idea is an anathema to me. It was the same feeling I had after I gave a talk on Propaganda (skepticamp) when someone asked me if we couldn't use propaganda to "our" side's advantage. :-( It's complicated.
@Dianora I know - part of me wants to kick back as hard as I feel we are being kicked, but at the same time I also understand that the best remedy for today’s deluge of misinformation is really critical thought.
Creating more propaganda just seems futile.
@shadowpages Critical thinking as it has been taught is badly taught. Being open minded knowing how to calm the fear and impulse to agree without checking- IS a Prerequisite. Logic is a tool but only important after mastering the prerequisites.This is the blog post I am working on now.
What Propaganda does is effectively short circuit the prefrontal cortex and go straight to the Amygdala; that reptile brain. Fear works. You can see the distasteful problem immediately.
@shadowpages i thought gail vaz oxlade's til debt do us part was great for financial literacy & understanding debt & managing household finances.
i don't remember street cents. i do like marketplace & it does lead me to do research on things i hadn't already considered. i think makes me a more critical thinking consumer. 5th estate was good but i haven't seen it in awhile. there were also some good pbs shows...