Disrupting the Internet's Hate-Filled Culture

We are all aware of the overwhelming amount of hate that consumes the internet and many of us acknowledge this dark cloud that hovers over our culture as something truly harmful and cancerous indeed. Yet although many of us do acknowledge how destructive our harmful and hate-filled internet culture is, we still find ourselves engaging in it and adding fuel.  Why do we engage in this aggressive and even violent behavior when consuming news and interacting online?

It’s by design.  In Ryan Holidays recent book “Confessions of a Media Manipulator” he explains how news producers deliberately create news that not only invokes anger in readers but they have increasingly produced content that is often far from the truth, on top of it.    

In the process of producing content that angers readers, bloggers and other news producers also have increasingly lowered standards of fact checking and as a result, people’s lives are being destroyed by the online mobs. Many of the people who take part in the online pitchfork mobs, probably don’t even realize how damaging this trend has become. Many don’t realize that people’s lives have been completely ripped apart on blogs and forums. These victims deserve a chance to defend themselves before being sent to the guillotine by the Court of Public Opinion.

Although its long overdue for someone to step up and attempt to cure this epidemic, a website has finally surfaced to help victims of the angry hordes and its impact will ultimately blossom into greater civility in our day-to-day interactions. Its called Panacea and the website is Panacea.video.   

Panacea’s stated mission is “Making the World More Civilized. Disarming the Pitchfork Mobs”. There are many facets and features to this new site but the 2 core features are: bringing public conflicts to the forefront and encouraging audiences to help gauge authenticity; and providing a platform for people being accused to directly address their critics – its called the “Panacea Open Courtroom”. In a sense, Panacea is a non-violent and more libertarian approach to solving many of our problems in society.   

In the Open Courtroom, defendants can attempt to prove their innocence.  They can also provide details that the public isn’t aware of; speak directly to other people involved in the conflict; apologize and discuss steps they are taking to make up for what they did or ensure that they do not make the same mistakes again; or seek help from outside parties such as drug/alcohol counselors or anger management therapists, etc. Panacea offers a platform for people to discuss things constructively without violence, given that participants are in different locations.    

This is a courtroom where penalties do not exist and viewers are reminded that everyone makes mistakes – what’s most important about mistakes is applying proper analysis, learning from them and understanding how to avoid them in the future.   

Although Panacea does not advocate penalizing people for harmful mistakes, this platform does allow for a more effective way to hold people accountable for offensive acts. In fact, with the spread of digital cameras and posting videos on sites like Panacea.video, the threat of being held accountable increases, therefore the likelihood of people committing wrongful acts should decrease as a result. A damaged reputation is often more impactful than fining someone or throwing them in jail.   

As a platform that aims to improve the way society addresses conflicts, encourage a greater level of civility and condemns all forms of violence, its only fitting to look to figures like Gandhi to validate these approaches and objectives. Gandhi said:   

“Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being…Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality…Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.”   

As people, we should all take a step back and ask ourselves:  What are the biggest problems in our modern world? Why do we see so much anger, violence and uncivilized behavior?   

I would argue that the media and the way that news is consumed is a major contributor to the violence and ubiquitous anger that exists in our culture. Modern media constantly pushes stories with conflicts that bring out anger in the viewers because this is the content that drives viewership and greater viewership equals more money. 

Panacea is a platform that aims to improve our culture in many ways, beginning with a less hated-filled, less violent and more constructive medium for addressing conflicts. Don’t let the angry headlines and images pull you in – try something more civilized: panacea.video.