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 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.
@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.