4 ms·

Although people are worried about disinformation, many people will also label anything they don't like as such. That way content can be censored in a palatable

Although people are worried about disinformation, many people will also label anything they don't like as such. That way content can be censored in a palatable way.

jonathankoren 6y ago
Recently, we’ve seen “fake news” turned from a very specific type of propaganda — literally invented stories on invented media with the intent of being shared on social media, for radicalization purposes, think “Denver Guardian”[0] — to be rapidly watered down to mean “I don’t like this”. It’s obvious why. Hyperpartisan deliberate misinformation is the coin of the realm in conservative media. It’s been like this going back to the John Birch Society. (And no, sharing misinformation is not symmetric on political extremes.[1]) [0] https://www.cpr.org/2016/11/23/we-tracked-down-a-fake-news-creator-in-the-suburbs-heres-what-we-learned/ https://www.cpr.org/2016/11/23/we-tracked-down-a-fake-news-c... [1] https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/06/17/who-shares-most-fake-news-new-study-sheds-light https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/06/17/who-shares-most-fa...
- oji0hub 6y ago
  Start doing your own fact checking of the more left leaning publications. You may be surprised.
hpcjoe 6y ago
Precisely. This practice of attributing loaded labels such as this is intellectually dishonest, yet it happens with gusto in the US today. The end result is that there are kneejerk reactions in the media (social, mainstream) to apply this label to information that is at odds with what you want to be the case. Rather than use hard reasoning skills to win an argument, paint the other as being disinformation. Or apply this to people with loaded labels that aren't supported by the evidence. All of this to push back on things people don't want to hear. Inconvenient and often uncomfortable bits of reality. This is a very slippery slope. Sadly we've been on our way down it for a number of years. I personally mark the beginning of this slope as the time when our lovely US mainstream media abandoned all pretense at being objective, and decided narratives of resistance made far more sense than objectively reporting. Though I can likely point further back, to 2001, and the reaction of the media to the ascension of Bush the younger. This is of course, my opinion. Doesn't make it right or wrong. It isn't mis/dis information. I am not a good/bad person for having it.

Although people are worried about disinformation, many people will also label anything they don't like as such. That way content can be censored in a palatable way.

jonathankoren 6y ago

Recently, we’ve seen “fake news” turned from a very specific type of propaganda — literally invented stories on invented media with the intent of being shared on social media, for radicalization purposes, think “Denver Guardian”[0] — to be rapidly watered down to mean “I don’t like this”. It’s obvious why. Hyperpartisan deliberate misinformation is the coin of the realm in conservative media. It’s been like this going back to the John Birch Society. (And no, sharing misinformation is not symmetric on political extremes.[1]) [0] https://www.cpr.org/2016/11/23/we-tracked-down-a-fake-news-creator-in-the-suburbs-heres-what-we-learned/ https://www.cpr.org/2016/11/23/we-tracked-down-a-fake-news-c... [1] https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/06/17/who-shares-most-fake-news-new-study-sheds-light https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/06/17/who-shares-most-fa...

oji0hub 6y ago
Start doing your own fact checking of the more left leaning publications. You may be surprised.

hpcjoe 6y ago

Precisely. This practice of attributing loaded labels such as this is intellectually dishonest, yet it happens with gusto in the US today. The end result is that there are kneejerk reactions in the media (social, mainstream) to apply this label to information that is at odds with what you want to be the case. Rather than use hard reasoning skills to win an argument, paint the other as being disinformation. Or apply this to people with loaded labels that aren't supported by the evidence. All of this to push back on things people don't want to hear. Inconvenient and often uncomfortable bits of reality. This is a very slippery slope. Sadly we've been on our way down it for a number of years. I personally mark the beginning of this slope as the time when our lovely US mainstream media abandoned all pretense at being objective, and decided narratives of resistance made far more sense than objectively reporting. Though I can likely point further back, to 2001, and the reaction of the media to the ascension of Bush the younger. This is of course, my opinion. Doesn't make it right or wrong. It isn't mis/dis information. I am not a good/bad person for having it.