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Disinformation Is the Real Threat to Democracy and Public Health

16 points by mindracer 3y ago

paulpauper 3y ago
All too often it seems like the label of disinformation is thrown around to discredit a source which goes against a mainstream narrative, not that is it wrong. If something is indeterminant, then disagreeing with it, like mask or social distancing efficacy or lockdowns during Covid, does not make it disinformation. Why does one side get to have their views enshrined as correct information.
- thegrim33 3y ago
  Quite simply because that same side overwhelmingly controls the dissemination of information to the public and have the motive, means, and opportunity to make use of that monopoly/power to push their belief system as the "truth". Combined with the average intelligence of the population being pretty low and unable to see through the manipulation.
- aaroninsf 3y ago
  Those things were efficacious; the material debate is which of various incompatible goals were to be privileged. Still the case—most everyone I know has decided they'll foreclose on modestly reduction of small known risks (and unknown long term ones), in favor of e.g. economic social and plain old everyday convenience. My suspicion is that when nuanced multi-dimensional arguments collapse into binary ones, it's the collapse causing perception/accusation of disinformation. We perceive over-simplification as mendacious when it's done by "the other side," but excuse it (if we even mark it) on our side.
illuminant 3y ago
American Thought Control is the real threat to democracy.
jevoten 3y ago
I think many people agree that disinformation is a threat, but won't admit it. Because they know that anti-disinformation efforts will be (and have been) used tactically only to silence narratives those in power dislike, and not as a neutral, dispassionate tool of truth. Weak evidence will be considered as conclusive proof, or strong evidence dismissed as inconclusive, as convenient for the fact-checkers. For example, even though the police killings/homicides committed ratio is higher for Whites than Blacks, BLM is never cited as based on disinformation, nor are their protests during the peak of COVID cited as a risk. https://theintercept.com/2022/10/31/social-media-disinformation-dhs/ https://theintercept.com/2022/10/31/social-media-disinformat... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/homeland-securitys-disinformation https://greenwald.substack.com/p/homeland-securitys-disinfor... https://citizenjournos.com/2021/04/26/nobody-does-disinformation-better-than-the-bbcs-anti-disinformation-unit/ https://citizenjournos.com/2021/04/26/nobody-does-disinforma... https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-fmr-cia-chief-mike-morell-testifies-under-oath-that-biden-campaign https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-fmr-cia-chief-mike-mo... https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2749593/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news/ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2749593/disinformati...

16 points by mindracer 3y ago

All too often it seems like the label of disinformation is thrown around to discredit a source which goes against a mainstream narrative, not that is it wrong. If something is indeterminant, then disagreeing with it, like mask or social distancing efficacy or lockdowns during Covid, does not make it disinformation. Why does one side get to have their views enshrined as correct information.

thegrim33 3y ago
Quite simply because that same side overwhelmingly controls the dissemination of information to the public and have the motive, means, and opportunity to make use of that monopoly/power to push their belief system as the "truth". Combined with the average intelligence of the population being pretty low and unable to see through the manipulation.
aaroninsf 3y ago
Those things were efficacious; the material debate is which of various incompatible goals were to be privileged. Still the case—most everyone I know has decided they'll foreclose on modestly reduction of small known risks (and unknown long term ones), in favor of e.g. economic social and plain old everyday convenience. My suspicion is that when nuanced multi-dimensional arguments collapse into binary ones, it's the collapse causing perception/accusation of disinformation. We perceive over-simplification as mendacious when it's done by "the other side," but excuse it (if we even mark it) on our side.

illuminant 3y ago

American Thought Control is the real threat to democracy.

jevoten 3y ago

I think many people agree that disinformation is a threat, but won't admit it. Because they know that anti-disinformation efforts will be (and have been) used tactically only to silence narratives those in power dislike, and not as a neutral, dispassionate tool of truth. Weak evidence will be considered as conclusive proof, or strong evidence dismissed as inconclusive, as convenient for the fact-checkers. For example, even though the police killings/homicides committed ratio is higher for Whites than Blacks, BLM is never cited as based on disinformation, nor are their protests during the peak of COVID cited as a risk. https://theintercept.com/2022/10/31/social-media-disinformation-dhs/ https://theintercept.com/2022/10/31/social-media-disinformat... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/homeland-securitys-disinformation https://greenwald.substack.com/p/homeland-securitys-disinfor... https://citizenjournos.com/2021/04/26/nobody-does-disinformation-better-than-the-bbcs-anti-disinformation-unit/ https://citizenjournos.com/2021/04/26/nobody-does-disinforma... https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-fmr-cia-chief-mike-morell-testifies-under-oath-that-biden-campaign https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-fmr-cia-chief-mike-mo... https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2749593/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news/ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2749593/disinformati...