I was watching something on the Internet the other day talking about the top things many Americans believe that aren't true.
It was a bit scary in many respects but based on some results of "man on the street" interviews, many were not that surprising (yes a lot believe big foot exists).
However one statistic, based on a Pew Study was scary.
Almost 50% of Americans believe that major media just makes up false stories.
Yes I've heard the dontard carry on about fake media, but I didn't realize he was believed by so many.
I'm not talking about fringe news outlets either, but network news and respected newspapers.
I realize they use deceptive headlines and other tricks to catch your interest but even those publications you see on the checkout line turn out to use deceptive headlines but actually in the story stick to actual facts mostly.
Yes some of the stuff you see on social media is just false but that is from tainted sources.
I blame the Internet but it is also the constant attacks we see on some cable news and of course the dontard.
It explains a lot if that many people simply ignore factual news reports and rely on propaganda.
Its also scary.
https://www.journalism.org/2019/06/05/many-americans-say-made-up-news-is-a-critical-problem-that-needs-to-be-fixed/
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
News?
Sometimes we give coverage to stories that really don't deserve any.
Often assumptions are made about the motivations that are purely speculative and usually wrong.
For example there was a short to do in some papers over a picture of Prom going boys, some of whom looked like they were giving a NAZI salute. Of course it was also a good interpretation that they froze their arms in the picture when they were just waving.
Looking for the worst in things has become a universal occupation, as people hunt and hope to find something that gets them a few minutes of fame on social media.
Once in a while they find something legitimate but much of the time it is simply a misinterpretation.
Must of what you see on the Internet is simply wrong.
It is simply not held up to any particular standards unless of course it is published by one of the traditional media sources.
Its not much different than it always was, when rumors would get circulated that had little or no basis in fact, sometimes to promote a cause, except that with social media, word of mouth is so much faster.
Its basically how the Russians influenced the last election by posting purely fictitious items and having them spread rapidly without any verification.
This does create a lot of fake news, but not the fake news that the President talks about, he wants to categorize legitimate news as fake news.
In fact, he spreads a lot of fake news himself as much as he lies.
Unfortunately determining what is and what isn't fake becomes our responsibility and we are simply not very good at it.
There are real facts out there, just might be hard to find them.
Often assumptions are made about the motivations that are purely speculative and usually wrong.
For example there was a short to do in some papers over a picture of Prom going boys, some of whom looked like they were giving a NAZI salute. Of course it was also a good interpretation that they froze their arms in the picture when they were just waving.
Looking for the worst in things has become a universal occupation, as people hunt and hope to find something that gets them a few minutes of fame on social media.
Once in a while they find something legitimate but much of the time it is simply a misinterpretation.
Must of what you see on the Internet is simply wrong.
It is simply not held up to any particular standards unless of course it is published by one of the traditional media sources.
Its not much different than it always was, when rumors would get circulated that had little or no basis in fact, sometimes to promote a cause, except that with social media, word of mouth is so much faster.
Its basically how the Russians influenced the last election by posting purely fictitious items and having them spread rapidly without any verification.
This does create a lot of fake news, but not the fake news that the President talks about, he wants to categorize legitimate news as fake news.
In fact, he spreads a lot of fake news himself as much as he lies.
Unfortunately determining what is and what isn't fake becomes our responsibility and we are simply not very good at it.
There are real facts out there, just might be hard to find them.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Social Media
When you look at social media, or at least when I do, you see a lot of things posted multiple times by different people. This is because they shared the item.
A recent study showed that certain foreign entities to include Russia, created bogus web sites and targeted certain people who they knew would tend to share stories without verifying them.
In fact the more outrageous the story, the faster it tended to get shared.
These bogus sites would have very American sounding names and while it turns out the more successful ones tended to be far right ones, they also created far left ones.
This study showed that much of the acrimony we see on social media is in fact manufactured by these entities with the general objective of disrupting Americans.
The idea being, I gather, that the more we got entangled in domestic disputes the less likely we were to intervene in things like the Crimea invasion or China's activities in the South China Seas.
They would much prefer we get outraged over gun rights, or abortion, or immigration than over international items.
It was also aimed at discrediting certain politicians who were likely to oppose these actions in favor of ones who wouldn't.
In order words we were played and are still being played.
There was never a sex ring in a DC pizza parlor or never a plan to seize Americans guns. Our outrage over political correctness was manipulated and there wasn't a tremendous increase in disrespect for our flag.
There were and always will be some isolated events but the concept that there is a concerted conspiracy to erode our values is in fact a foreign agents attempt to do just that.
Don't just share things you see on the Internet, especially the ones that are most outrageous, unless you know they are true. Most aren't.
A recent study showed that certain foreign entities to include Russia, created bogus web sites and targeted certain people who they knew would tend to share stories without verifying them.
In fact the more outrageous the story, the faster it tended to get shared.
These bogus sites would have very American sounding names and while it turns out the more successful ones tended to be far right ones, they also created far left ones.
This study showed that much of the acrimony we see on social media is in fact manufactured by these entities with the general objective of disrupting Americans.
The idea being, I gather, that the more we got entangled in domestic disputes the less likely we were to intervene in things like the Crimea invasion or China's activities in the South China Seas.
They would much prefer we get outraged over gun rights, or abortion, or immigration than over international items.
It was also aimed at discrediting certain politicians who were likely to oppose these actions in favor of ones who wouldn't.
In order words we were played and are still being played.
There was never a sex ring in a DC pizza parlor or never a plan to seize Americans guns. Our outrage over political correctness was manipulated and there wasn't a tremendous increase in disrespect for our flag.
There were and always will be some isolated events but the concept that there is a concerted conspiracy to erode our values is in fact a foreign agents attempt to do just that.
Don't just share things you see on the Internet, especially the ones that are most outrageous, unless you know they are true. Most aren't.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Hey Everybody, Take a Knee
If someone you didn't know called you up and asked you to stand on a corner handing out a bunch of pamphlets about some random issue you may sort of support the odds are you wouldn't do it, because it would require a certain amount of work.
However on Facebook and Twitter you just have to hit a button or two.
Now there is a lot of evidence coming t that campaigns were organized by various interests including the Russians to both influence the election and sow discord in America.
Take the current silliness over the NFL players.
Racism in our country probably isn't getting worse, just more visible but it is there.
Taking a knee during the playing of a song was designed to call attention to that.
A peaceful and even respectful protest that hurts no one, disrupts nothing and is protected by the constitution.
Now we have a tweet war and people acting like its the worst thing since the attack on the World Trade Center.
What is the problem with everybody?
Well we know that certain parties are fanning the flames including the Russian Stooge in the White House.
Of course the trolls on the Internet are having a field day with it and passions are getting inflamed.
Now this simply isn't a real issue. No one buried in a National Cemetery cares and from what I can tell most veterans just want to watch a good game.
Real issues, like racism, disaster relief, pollution, jobs, border security and health care are not impacted.
If you don't want to watch football because of this, fine, watch a show about constitutional freedoms.
it wouldn't hurt.
However on Facebook and Twitter you just have to hit a button or two.
Now there is a lot of evidence coming t that campaigns were organized by various interests including the Russians to both influence the election and sow discord in America.
Take the current silliness over the NFL players.
Racism in our country probably isn't getting worse, just more visible but it is there.
Taking a knee during the playing of a song was designed to call attention to that.
A peaceful and even respectful protest that hurts no one, disrupts nothing and is protected by the constitution.
Now we have a tweet war and people acting like its the worst thing since the attack on the World Trade Center.
What is the problem with everybody?
Well we know that certain parties are fanning the flames including the Russian Stooge in the White House.
Of course the trolls on the Internet are having a field day with it and passions are getting inflamed.
Now this simply isn't a real issue. No one buried in a National Cemetery cares and from what I can tell most veterans just want to watch a good game.
Real issues, like racism, disaster relief, pollution, jobs, border security and health care are not impacted.
If you don't want to watch football because of this, fine, watch a show about constitutional freedoms.
it wouldn't hurt.
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