Everyone wants to have an opinion, and to publish said opinion, before they have any justification for an opinion. We’ve seen this over and over again, from bot

Everyone wants to have an opinion, and to publish said opinion, before they have any justification for an opinion. We’ve seen this over and over again, from both the left and the right, and yet it remains a blind-spot. Recall the MAGA kids who brutalized the peaceful Native American. Recall Trump directly ordering Cohen to lie to congress. Recall any story where in the rush to gain clicks, everyone jumped to ill-informed conclusions. The problem is not an idealogical press. That is capitalism at work. American history reveals muckracking as the norm rather than the exception. The problem is the speed at which this now occurs. The true driver of ‘clicks’ is the astonishing efficiency of forming and disseminating opinions that stoke ideological mobs, mobs which are no longer limited by geography or synchronicity. I’ve long believed that the only solution to a truth-based press is to replace opinion with primary sources. Now that there are networked cameras on every corner and in every pocket, this shouldn’t be far off. However, the advent of deep-fakes certainly throws a twist into this story. Ultimately, those of us who value reason and logic should form our beliefs slowly, relying on primary sources as available. Although ideology and unreasonable conclusions dominate American politics, there is no reason for us to do the same. There is no urgency to form a conclusion here, unless your livelihood depends on publishing stories that will drive traffic. Spending any mental energy on this, at the present moment, is a waste of time. The report will be out soon enough, and that will be the time to even entertain making judgments. More likely than not, however, the report will lead to more questions than answers. At least for those who value knowing the truth over making a buck.