AGE OF MISINFORMATION

I am going through my timeline trying to make sense of everything that happening, both in the international and local scene. Cases of fear and violence spiralling out of control. Many cannot make sense of it all. They do not have the necessary tools to make sense of it all.

MISINFORMATION

We are in an era of information. The media has evolved from what it used to be some decades ago when most of all the news we got came from media houses and journalists. There was always the danger of flawed narratives and the concentration of power in a few hands--media which led many people to source for information independently. Now the dynamics are different.

Most of the news we get is from the independent sources and first-hand experiences which are later amplified by media houses. Never would I have thought that there will be a time when I would be getting prompt news about events and happens globally via social media rather them news outlets; a world where ordinary people will play the role of journalists.

Unfortunately, this rise and spread of information gathering and sourcing have created another problem as most of this information/news is falsified or hard to verify. Even well known and established media houses have put out fake news or tried to change the narrative of a particular event to suit their agenda. However, the rate of distrust for the media has increased significantly

TRUST

I find it difficult to trust anything I read online and I guess a lot of people feel that way. I remember when the corona outbreak starts a lot of people were sceptical about it and it's validity. Many equated it to a common cold. This said common cold has killed over 100,000 in the United State. Many still question the validity of those figures. Some say it's more, others say it is less. There are still many who are in denial--people who do not believe the virus exists. if we add the series of conspiracy theories flying around we will realize that this is indeed a shitshow.

AGE OF CONFUSION

It seems with the free and quick access to the information we've created confusion in the minds of the masses and their only recluse is to follow the bandwagon. it is easier that way. Having a mind--critical mind--of your own seems far fetched because it involves deeply about everything, even your own thoughts. So it far less complex when we have other people thinking for us.

The question is: where does the truth lie? It has become a personal responsibility for everyone to verify the information they receive. Once upon a time that was the job for media houses and journalists. Unfortunately, we don't believe these organisations or people anymore. We have been engineered to be passive and lazy intellectually. Now we find ourselves in the wild wild west of the information which has necessitated that we make an extra effort if indeed we find the truth. You will understand why this seems like an impossible task for many.

WHAT'S THE WAY FORWARD?

I honestly do not see any. This distrust that exists between institutes and the masses will keep growing deeper alongside political and social unrest. We've seen in the past few weeks how things can escalate when an opportunity presents itself. You would imagine people risking their lives at the peak of a pandemic to protest and those with personal agendas of their own are buying into the mayhem and escalating things even further. I have read and watched things that don't actually make any logical sense with thousands of retweets and comments endorsing them. Those who want to grow the engagement on their pages are using this chaos to fuel their agenda, misinforming gullible people. This is the new world--a world of opportunists and misinformation.

My personal response to everything in the world right is indifference. When I do have the time to pay attention I look at the elements that are constant or consistent across various spectra before forming an opinion or in most cases approach it with some humour. There is so much I don't understand and don't want to. I do not want to be plunged into a world of conspiracies. There are enough fear and uncertainty in the world right now. Maybe we are due for some catastrophic event, something worse than what we are already experiencing right now in the world to help shape our perspective of what's important. Sounds too extreme, I know.

---

Also posted on hive