Recently, I started reading “Lies, Incorporated (The World of Post-Truth Politics)” by Ari Rabin-Havt and Media Matters for America, published in 2016. The book was most likely written prior to the presidential primaries and election, during which Donald Trump’s cavalier distortion of facts became well documented. Post something on social media or allude to something in a speech as fact, and everyone believes it! Indeed, we now have organizations, such as lobbyists and politically-connected consultancy firms, who make it their business to distort the facts in favour of an interest group’s position, be they political or business in nature. Even worst, they often will disseminate lies.
History is full of examples of such manipulative efforts, including those related to cancer and tobacco, health care, climate change, immigration, guns, abortion, gay marriage, etc. Both so-called conservatives and liberals have chosen certain facts to support their particular positions on most issues, often referred to as ‘bias predisposition’. However, while it’s one thing to stretch the truth in one way or another, it’s a lot more serious to deliberately disseminate lies. Can we truly rationalize that the end justifies the means?
Donald Trump and his electoral/transition teams have taken the premeditated dissemination of lies to a whole new level. One can only surmise how this Machiavellian approach in handling social-economic issues will affect the new administration’s dealings on the domestic and world stages. Are truths to be swept aside in support of purely ideological reasoning? Instead of basing decisions on facts, scientific-based or statistically proven, are we expected to support decision-making on fabricated truths?
It was once said that if one were to repeat something often enough, people will actually begin to believe it as fact. One of the dangers of ‘social media’ is that this is exactly what is happening. Maybe, we’ve become lazy and complacent about questioning what is being fed to us everyday through media sources suffering from a lack of the normal journalistic verification and validation. Perhaps, our biases, discontent and anger encourage us to simply seek out any information that conveniently backs up our interests and positions. This is exactly what the likes of Trump are counting on. “We will interpret the truth for you.” has become slogan of the day. Just trust us.
FROLITICKS 