We need to stop the age of misinformation

[MongGrel]

Someone tried to address this issue in P&N recently. He chose the Cliven Bundy topic to bring it up, though, so most people who posted just ignored the underlying question.

I'm sure most people posting there were aware of the fact this had happened anyway.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

People love misinformation. No, not quite right. What they love is anything which validates their beliefs and if that requires lies, denial or obfuscation then so be it. Happens all the time.

 

[jerk-chicken]

I see lots of misinformation from damn near all the media! They will protect that Kenyan bastard to the grave!

What is your malfunction?

 

[dank69]

What is your malfunction?

Sadly, I am pretty sure it was a serious post. :\

 

[Newell Steamer]

Today, everyone has a message they need to deliver. And, said messages are agenda driven.

No one honestly wishes well and good will, to anyone.

People spread lies, because they are angry, racist misandry/misogyny creeps looking to exploit or humiliate people.

And, the internet allows for that.

Also, when you have to rely on Cracked.com to call out false news stories,.. you know humanity is FUCKED, proper.

http://www.cracked.com/search/search.php?sa=search&q=viral

 

[mikeford]

Now add in a huge distrust and adversity to any foreign sources of news (even if they still require the news to be honest), and divide what you got into left and right categories and all you got is a mess
See P&N for examples

Variety of sources, even biased sources is better than any single source. BBC, Aljazerra, don't waste time though on the nut channels MSNBC etc.

Hardiest part, don't believe just because you like what you hear, keep some doubt and check other sources.

Obama changed the whitehouse press rules, only invited media are allowed in his press conferences, and only those he selects are allowed to ask questions.

 

[boomerang]

There is a loud vocal minority who is taking control of our media, and it needs to stop.

I've got to know. Who is this loud vocal minority?

 

[dank69]

...

Obama changed the whitehouse press rules, only invited media are allowed in his press conferences, and only those he selects are allowed to ask questions.

Pretty sure that was happening long before Obama, maybe you should check your sources.

 

[Vdubchaos]

They have been feeding American public with information for MANY MANY years. Probably close to 60 or so......or even longer.

Like George would say: World is full of BS and in America you get the front seat to it all!!!

You better believe it.

PS. I don't watch news, read newspapers or believe/trust ANYTHING from any of our news "sources". If there is anything important to know, I will hear about it....not giving a fug goes a long way.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Obama changed the whitehouse press rules, only invited media are allowed in his press conferences, and only those he selects are allowed to ask questions.

wrong.........you have no clue!

 

[SlitheryDee]

I don't understand this complaint. Are you saying the things I see on the news aren't really happening or what? Did Malaysian airlines not really lose an airplane?

Do you know what a gilded age of free and open thought would look and sound like? A cacophony of confused and strident voices all vying for your belief and attention. Pretty much what things sound like now to me. You just have to learn to navigate through the bullshit. I don't see it as much different from the kind of selective belief we use in our interpersonal relationships. Everyone will twist stories where they have a strong opinion in order to cause others to reach the same conclusions. Probably 90% of everything you hear from people on subjects where opinions run contrary to each other is going to have their own personal spin on it. The only thing that saves us from each other is the fact that we all know that most of what we tell each other is bullshit and take everything we hear with a grain of salt. You can't force the other guy to stop lying, embellishing, or obfuscating, but you can control the filter you use to glean information from him. Clearly critical thinking is what we need most of all in a age of free thought.

 

[Pocatello]

This is the thread where the nuts come out with tin-foil hats and all.

 

[SMOGZINN]

It never occurred to me that the FCC would have a rule about the news being accurate or truthful. While an excellent idea on the surface, it's seems to me it would be entirely unenforceable in anything but the most egregious cases.

This is what comes from growing up in a culture that has abandoned the idea of public good. The FCC's job is to see that the frequencies used for communications is being used for the good of everyone, and not the profit of a few. At this they have completely failed in the last few decades. You see it unenforceable because you have gotten used to the idea that the companies get to tell the government what to do and not the other way around.

News in the US is fundamentally entertainment, and the entire system revolves around ad revenue. Because of that, every news source has an agenda of not bitting the hand that feeds them.

There used to be a time when the news was about facts not opinion. When if there was an explosion at a plant in a city the news would tell you 'There has been an explosion at the XXX Plant in YYY Town. We will have more on this as it develops' and then move on to something else until they have some more actual information. Now we get talking heads that sit around for hours and give their opinion on the sorts of things that might cause explosions in XXX plants.

 

[skimple]

Of course, media is still very reflective of its audience. Since it's ad driven, they will only air what gets the most eyeballs. That's sensationalist yellow journalism and fluff stories, peppered with militant political correctness and blind patriotism. That's what the people want.

Bingo!

The idea that there is some corporate conspiracy to control what Americans watch is absurd. The "media conglomerates" will air whatever allows them to generate ad revenue. If "misinformation" is prevalent, it is because the audience wants it that way - on both sides of the political fence.

 

[BoberFett]

There used to be a time when the news was about facts not opinion. When if there was an explosion at a plant in a city the news would tell you 'There has been an explosion at the XXX Plant in YYY Town. We will have more on this as it develops' and then move on to something else until they have some more actual information. Now we get talking heads that sit around for hours and give their opinion on the sorts of things that might cause explosions in XXX plants.

You forgot about blaming it on over-regulation, under-regulation, corporations, the 1%, Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party, and the Koch Brothers.

 

[mizzou]

I've got to know. Who is this loud vocal minority?

Not sure. Of course I have ZERO factual evidence of the real statistics...but I don't remember people being so outrageously stupid before the invention of anonymous internet posting.

Perhaps we are now just acting out our inner beliefs with no fear of personal judgment...or perhaps we are now just acting out our inner fantasies which we would never practice in real life.

 

[darkewaffle]

No. Most Americans live in the tiny bubble they inhabit, and have no use for facts. What they hear or think is true.

I'd probably second this for the most part. Most people are content to live within their comfort zone - expanding their horizons doesn't really benefit them directly. They like to hear things that let them feel righteous or secure or morally superior, or sometimes even just happy.

I don't watch news, read newspapers or believe/trust ANYTHING from any of our news "sources". If there is anything important to know, I will hear about it....not giving a fug goes a long way.

but I don't remember people being so outrageously stupid before the invention of anonymous internet posting.

oh god

 

[phucheneh]

I can totally understand the viewpoint of the OP, I think.

I've just given up fighting with most people. I tend to argue more with anonymous people on the internet simply because it's more likely that there is a party reading what I write that has some intelligence. Hell, here's an odd-sounding observation: It's more likely that my opposition in a dispute is smart enough that it is possible for me to win.

In day-to-day life, it's best to just shrug off the massive stupidity of society at large. Someone says something horribly, utterly, factually incorrect...no point in bothering to let them know that they're stupid. They are literally too stupid to know how stupid they are. They are in a funnel of stupid, accelerating toward the bottom.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I can totally understand the viewpoint of the OP, I think.

I've just given up fighting with most people. I tend to argue more with anonymous people on the internet simply because it's more likely that there is a party reading what I write that has some intelligence. Hell, here's an odd-sounding observation: It's more likely that my opposition in a dispute is smart enough that it is possible for me to win.

In day-to-day life, it's best to just shrug off the massive stupidity of society at large. Someone says something horribly, utterly, factually incorrect...no point in bothering to let them know that they're stupid. They are literally too stupid to know how stupid they are. They are in a funnel of stupid, accelerating toward the bottom.

A swirling turd of stupid being flushed down the bowl.

 

[unokitty]

I can totally understand the viewpoint of the OP, I think.

...They are literally too stupid to know how stupid they are. ..

Isn't this phenomen commonly referred to as the Dunning Kruger Effect? As published in "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"

Though, there are prior references.

Confucius: "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
Bertrand Russell: "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision."
Charles Darwin: "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."
Shakespeare: "The Foole doth thinke he is wise, but the wiseman knowes himselfe to be a Foole."


Uno

 

[phucheneh]

Isn't this phenomen commonly referred to as the Dunning Kruger Effect? As published in "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"

Though, there are prior references.

Confucius: "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
Bertrand Russell: "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision."
Charles Darwin: "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."
Shakespeare: "The Foole doth thinke he is wise, but the wiseman knowes himselfe to be a Foole."


Uno

Oh, it's a very wide observation, to be sure. The basic 'wisdom is admitting what you don't know' train of thought certainly plays a part.

In fact, the widespread notion of that [very true] idea has actually been detrimental...it seems more common that someone will constantly state that they 'only know what they know' and will only say things they are 100% sure of...and most of it is still largely wrong. Based in anecdotes, common misconceptions, the media, the internet, whatever...

We all do it. We think we're sure about something because we have SOME knowledge in it, but it turns out...whoops, brainfart, I was totally wrong there.

But it takes a special kind of person to go so far as to be evangelical about a topic they literally know not one thing about. See: political and religious debates. All sides.

 

[MongGrel]

Today, everyone has a message they need to deliver. And, said messages are agenda driven.

No one honestly wishes well and good will, to anyone.

People spread lies, because they are angry, racist misandry/misogyny creeps looking to exploit or humiliate people.

And, the internet allows for that.

Also, when you have to rely on Cracked.com to call out false news stories,.. you know humanity is FUCKED, proper.

http://www.cracked.com/search/search.php?sa=search&q=viral

Aw, I love Cracked.com, yeah mean they post something real instead of comedy and satire ?

You're sense of Humor must be faulty.