Protecting America From Fake News

newsmax ^ | Nov 23, 2017 | David Ignatius

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Amid the slithering mess of problems that emerged in 2017, the one that bothers me most is that people don't seem to know what's true anymore. "Facts" this year got put in quotation marks.

All the other political difficulties of the Donald Trump era are subsumed in this one. If we aren't sure what's true, how can we act to make things better? If we don't know where we are on the map, how do we know which way to move? Democracy assumes a well-informed citizenry that argues about solutions — not about facts.

We can all choose our favorite examples of America's increasing difficulty in agreeing about evidence: the disdain for science among climate-change skeptics; the refusal to believe allegations about people we like, and the overeagerness to denounce those we don't like; the way in which political polarization has spread into every area of our common life — including sports.

What should thoughtful people do about this overarching problem? Part of the answer lies with my profession, the news business. We need to work harder to make sure that we're unbiased truth-tellers, not a series of echo chambers. When every story in a newspaper or on a website or cable channel seems to be going in the same direction, that's a sign that something's wrong. That's one reason I'd like to see a return of ombudsmen, to hold news organizations more accountable.

But journalists need new tools. We can't always vet every fact. We rely on certain trusted sources, news services such as the Associated Press or Reuters. But even those superbly professional fact-gatherers sometimes have trouble verifying information. Social media can help — people can upload video from their cellphones of events as they happen. But we're learning that social media can be tools of deception

[mad_as_he$$]

As resumes go, pretty varied and extensive. Why is he so ignorant now?

[Praetorian]

It is a joke used to make fun of people who claim that there are 72 genders.

Lauren Southern

[Spok]

You can’t protect people from lies; they must be educated. Assuming the media always tells the truth and the government always acts in good faith are myths that have to be debunked.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

What should thoughtful people do about this overarching problem?

We should eschew cynicism, but apply reasonable skepticism broadly:

The natural disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom teach it enough. The wisest and most cautious of us all frequently gives credit to stories which he himself is afterwards both ashamed and astonished that he could possibly think of believing.

The man whom we believe is necessarily, in the things concerning which we believe him, our leader and director, and we look up to him with a certain degree of esteem and respect. But as from admiring other people we come to wish to be admired ourselves; so from being led and directed by other people we learn to wish to become ourselves leaders and directors . . .

The desire of being believed, the desire of persuading, of leading and directing other people, seems to be one of the strongest of all our natural desires. - Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)

One reason to reject cynicism is that cynicism is an antonym for “faith” - and “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Another reason to reject cynicism, IMHO, is that cynicism actually is a rejection of skepticism about the opposite of whatever you are cynical about. Are you, Mr. journalist, cynical about Judge Roy Moore? Then you are actually naive about his accusers. Are you, Mr. socialist, cynical about society? Then you are naive about government.

[roadcat]

We can all choose our favorite examples of America's increasing difficulty in agreeing about evidence:

The disdain for journalists started way before the Trump era. Back during the Obama era, journalists were stating such facts as the glamor and beauty of the wookie-like Michelle Obama. Facts? The wookie being glamorous told me that the journalists made up their own reality.

[a fool in paradise]

The Left has more than a half century of cynicism of our goverment not because of perceived wrongs but because it is not Socialist/Communist. They are downright hostile to the established form of government in this country and our constitution and the rights it identifies.