I am specifically referring to those who persist in promoting easy to disprove and knowingly untrue facts online and in the media. I do know that in the UK, media outlets that knowingly put out misinformation can not only be sued for slander or libel but are required by law to cover all legal fees. This isn't just in regards to public figures and the royal family it was written in mind for but also facts in general.
Since there are too many people in influential positions in the U.S. who love what I call "Grey Area", it will be very hard to get it done here. Fox "News" personalities Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson lead the disinformation campaign and misinformation on the Mainstream Media side. This has notably been ramped up in recent years and more so because they are competing with the Extreme right media outlets like OAN, Info Wars and Newsmax.
As much as most on the Left and many Independents might hate Fox "News", the inconvenient truth is at least 60% of Americans--at least 75% of them Republican--primarily get their news information from Fox "News". That's a problem and more so given Fox News has done more to sow doubt and distrust about the U.S. government, elected officials and facts in general than any other media oulet in U.S. History.
I know some on the Right don't like this but the fact of the matter is the majority of those who consume Right Wing Media daily for years deep down don't understand--and often don't want to understand--as much about national politics, geography or how "the machine" that is the Democratic Process really works compared to most Democrats and Independents.
Why is that? Because unlike the other two groups of people, most Republicans go by what these outlets and their personalities tell them. Most don't do their own research because they assume what they consider trusted sources of information is be factual or true. This is also true for many Democrats and some Independents but the research and data shows the rate of "willful ignorance" and "denial of reality" mindsets is far higher with Republicans than the other two groups.
As Michael Cohen has told several of his guests on his podcast, the "willful ignorance" and "denial of reality" mindsets were the deciding factors in why Donald Trump chose the GOP to take over back in 2016. By the time he ran for president, it was basically ripe for the picking.
One thing all media outlets have damn-near perfected by this point is invoking outrage in people. I talked about this in another article a few weeks ago so I won't any more than that here. What I will say instead is this is why it's so important to NOT watch or listen to national news stories on a daily basis. More so in recent years, I have been trying to go weeks at a time without watching CNN and other outlets just for the sake of my mental health.
Yes, staying informed of current events is important but let's be honest: The overwhelming majority of what all media outlets focus on is mostly distressing or serious stuff. This is also why it's so important to cut back but not cut out your news media consumption in general.
All that said. I do believe those in the media who knowingly spread disinformation and misinformation should be made to pay a steep price and more so when it costs human life. They should be subjected to lawsuits at the least and prison time at the most.
Shifting to concerns around misinformation and disinformation being spready online primarily via Social Media.
The Right actually wrote the book on how to force an online platform to take responsability for the actions of third parties aka people who use their website. That's what FOSTA was for and it was written specifically to combat human trafficking, sex trafficking and other crimes CraigsList's Personals section as well as the website Backpage.com were being used for by some. Backpage was shut down and CraigsList removed their entire Personals section in response to the new law.
What FOSTA did was it removed the protections CraigsList hid behind that stipulates websites can't be sued or held criminally liable for the actions of third parties--the people that use the websitethemselves--who use the website. Once that protection was removed, CraigsList reacted by immediately removing their Personals section and telling people to blame the government for it being removed. The CraigsList Killer incidents of the early to mid-2000s was a black eye to the platform to say the least.
Anyways, something similar could be done for Social Media platforms. I do think it's time for online websites to be held accountable for just a lot of the toxic nonsense they allow people to promote and spew. A nice first step is to make all registered users agree to a clause that would hold them legally and criminally liable for intentionally posting or sharing misinformation or disinformation online. That would give the social media companies some teeth and also reduces liability risks as the burden is placed on the third party users, not them to police themselves as it should be.
I am WELL aware a lot of people don't like the idea "real world rules" being imposed online but after 25 years, "The Internet" has proven over and over and over that it needs more than the guard rails it currently has. It's time for the mostly anonymous nature of message boards, chatrooms and social media to come to an end at least.
I'll put it like this. If you walk into movie theater and start shouting for example "1+1=3!" you will likely be laughed by everyone who can hear you at best. If you do the same thing on Twitter, you'll have people tell you "you're right" or "I agree" even though that obviously isn't true. This is just putting it nicely with such a small and silly example.
I do personally believe--and I want to emphasize that this is my personal opinion only--that the COVID-19 Pandemic is a hard check on the U.S. in regards to Misinformation and Disinformation. Had the pandemic begun after Biden became president or while Obama was president, it would not have become as politicized as it's become.
We now have almost half the country that has decided getting sick or dying to the Corona Virus is better than getting vaccinated and in some cases better than getting fully vaccinated. That's basically what it is. Most of them don't even want to wear a face covering. Why? Because they want their trusted sources of information to only share their views. They don't want truth or facts and more so when it doesn't line up with what they already believe.
That brings me to the Instant Gratification mindset too many Americans have adopted over the last 20 years. I am not as willing as others to blame it on modern technology or modern conveniences but there are too many out there who expect things to happen or be done perfectly as they want it when they want it. The reality is for most things, time is needed for meaningful results or progress to happen.
Too many Americans and many people globally want, expect or in some cases demand things to be done or happen quickly or instantly. That's not a good or healthy minset to have. There is the old saying "Easy Come, Easy Go" for a reason so...yeah.
I wrote this article specifically with international readers in mind. I can be that objective about the past, present and potential future of America without being too pessimistic and cynical. Even when I give my opinion, it's from the perspective of one who has seen a lot of things.
Unlike corporate media and even most wanna-be bloggers, I have no problem correcting innacuracies on ANY of my blogs. More so in a country where truth is now considered too inconvenient to matter, I do my best to make sure I'm not promoting nonsense some already believe.
That brings me to a big subject the Dems decided to start supporting and promoting 20 years ago that is and always has been facturally incorrect.
I am specifically referring to Gender Indentity.
Basic science makes it clear you are born Biologically Male or Female.
This is one of the reasons some who are rightfully opposed to the Transgender, Asexual and Non-Binary Communities' as well as their allies in government's aggressive efforts to make the public deny such a basic, fundamental truth feel so "threatened".
Both genders are under attack from those who have made it clear they hate their birth gender or "gender norms" and want to feel "ok" about it. Ok fine, no problem there. That's one thing. The problem is they want to force everyone else to accept their views via lawsuits or legislation without debate or discussion. They say "This shouldn't need to be a discussion" because they know their reasonings don't make sense to everyone and they don't want to have to defend or explain their position.
That's why there is so much "outrage" from certain people. Those who are "outraged" about these efforts to rewrite basic biology--on that note, not all of them are Christians/etc. or Bigots--are further frustrated by the refusal of the other side to discuss their views, citing "It's a personal matter". Yes, and the fact that they want to force their personal views on society without allowing a discussion IS wrong. A fact they are WELL aware of.
So is the idea of babies or kids being able to "choose" their gender. That's not how it works. Everyone is born Male or Female. It would have been better and far less confusing if Gender Reassignment Surgery and hormone treatments were only used for legit medical conditions or injury. That's because it IS a major surgery. Depending on the switch, your Uretha (the tube from which Urine leaves your body) is literally moved inside or outside your body. THAT takes time for your body to adjust for.
The fact that some are using them to change their gender has led many to believe they're easy to do. Anyone who's undergone the process will tell you it's not easy at all. You literally need to change how you live as a person and that's before the surgery. It's also VERY expensive and Health Insurance doesn't cover it because it is considered an elective surgery.
Unlike when I was in high school 20 years ago, parents of students in public and some private schools now need to worry who may be influencing their child's Gender Identity. 100% of all who now identify as Transgender, Asexual or Non-Binary will tell you they wanted social acceptance. Many of those who self-identified as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual early in life will tell you they felt confused at first but peer acceptance is what clinched it for them.
In the past, a same-gender peer who you were not related to saying "I love you" or "I like you" was considered to mean both high respect and high value of you as a human being. You just never said it to a same-gender peer you were not related to unless you wanted to express your high esteem of them.
Now our society is keenly aware that saying "I love you" or "I like you" to a same-gender peer implies romantic interest so most either don't say it or explain why they say it at the same time. They have to just to make it clear they are not romantically interested in them.
On the flipside, I do agree with those who've been trying to say for the last few decades opposite-sex peers should be able to say "I like you" or "I love you" without the other person or others assuming it means there is romantic interest. I vehemently disagree with those who insist and want everyone to think opposite-sex peers can't just be friends.
I blame trash TV and and mass media for that kind of thinking personally. If you watch shows and talk shows about people having affairs or affairs being promoted, of course you'll think "most guys/girls cheat" and there's no point in getting married because you'll get divorced anyway.
I'll sum up this entire article to say this: People need to unlearn what they have learned and look at the larger picture. Question those who sow doubt or uncertainty and ask them why they feel the way they do.
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