Although the Great Prevaricator has elevated disinformation
to an art form, he did not invent it. Lies and Liars have always been with us.
In the last century people would support their false statements by saying, “I
read it in the newspaper,” making no
distinction between such rags as The Enquirer and the New York Times.
With the internet, widespread misinformation has become more
prevalent than ever. Professional liars such as Alex Jones spread their
mendacity throughout the world. What can stop them? How can citizens know whom
to believe?
Recently some steps have been taken to rein in some of the
deception that runs rampart on the internet. Apple, Facebook, YouTube, and
Spotify have removed Jones’s venom from their sites. However his garbage was
not removed because it was false. It was removed because it violated their
policies about hate speech.
Facebook has also deleted some accounts that were spreading
falsehoods. These accounts are similar to the covert Russian accounts that are
believed to have influenced the 2016 American election.
I am glad that something is being done about these fonts of
poison, but two questions come to my mind. Are we playing whack-a-mole? If we
chop off one toxic head, will two more arise someplace else? The second
question concerns: who decides? Who determines whether a particular piece of
information is harmless or a piece of trash that should be thrown out with the
rest of the rubbish?
I certainly don’t want conservatives deciding what I can and
cannot read. I don’t want liberals making the decisions either. Sometimes we
need to be politically incorrect. We need to raise and discuss issues that some
people find uncomfortable.
The decision about whether a bit of information is valid and
worthy of consideration must be left in the hands of the people. Yet many of
the people have shown themselves to be incapable of making informed decisions
about the value of all the data that streams to them every day.
Therefore, it is our responsibility to give the people the
skills they need to make knowledgeable decisions. From an early age children
need to be taught to think scientifically. They need to learn to evaluate the
fact statements that come to them. They need to be able to evaluate the
evidence that is presented to them and to think critically.
If we can open the minds of the new generation coming up, they
will be less likely to fall for the toxic dishonesty of the Great Prevaricators
of the future.
