We are living in a moment in time when knowing whom to believe and what to believe is challenging. The following example may sound trivial, but someone posted a picture on Facebook of a shirtless (and ripped) BTS member, Jungkook. There were hundreds of comments and even more likes praising his sexy good looks. However, I immediately became suspicious of the validity of the picture. First, because it seemed out of character for this rather shy member to take such a picture and second because the prominent tattoos on his hand and arm were missing. As I continued to read the comments, others joined me in questioning the validity of the photo. This is the world we now live in.
There have always been liars, cheaters, swindlers and used-car salesmen among us. They are typically motivated by the prospect of money, power, or fame. For some, it’s the simple thrill of fooling people. Magicians are good for that kind of innocent entertainment. And perhaps the person who posted the photoshopped picture of a shirtless Jungkook on Facebook was a digital magician. However, I wouldn’t want to be the subject of their magic.
The problem is that we depend on information to make rational decisions about our health, our livelihoods, our planet, and our political leaders. Our well-being depends on access to accurate information. And these days, dependable information is becoming increasingly difficult to come by. There are too many people willing to muddy the information pool with falsehoods, speculation, half-truths, omissions, and fantasy. Some are doing it for attention, some to sell products, some for political power, and others truly want to destroy or control society as we know it. Like Putin in Russia, Xi in China, and Kim in North Korea, these dangerous actors fully understand that control over information leads to psychological control of the people and ultimately keeps them in power. Those who question the information or present opposing information are quickly removed.
When it comes to our health, I learned that our healthcare industry depends heavily on the support of food industry giants. This is why slogans like, “Milk, it does a body good” go unchecked and uninterrogated. More people are lactose intolerant than not in the world, and so I wonder why we are determined to drink another mammal’s milk when we have our own? We can get calcium from green leafy vegetables. At the same time, Doctors and hospitals receive too much support from the pharmaceutical industry. When I spoke to my doctor about my plant-based diet to lose weight and lower my blood pressure, he immediately tried to prescribe me yet another medication, this one to help me lose the weight. I rejected it. There are good documentaries on the subject of healthcare, and that information helped me switch to a plant-based diet. I started with a pretty convincing one on Netflix called, “What the Health”.
I also watched a documentary on Netflix called, “The Great Hack”. It was about how Cambridge Analytica used our personal data from Facebook to feed users emotionally charged information designed to push them to vote a certain way or to not vote at all. In particular, they were involved in the Trump 2016 election, the Brexit vote, political movement events, and numerous election campaigns in support of tyrants across the world. To my utter surprise, at the center of Cambridge Analytica was Steve Bannon. The documentary revealed that his underlying motive is to destroy the current social order so that he can remake it according to his vision for society. Talk about an evil mastermind! He sounded like a villain straight out of a Bond or Batman movie. But this is real life stuff.
The point is that information is the greatest tool we use to make life decisions. And that tool is being corrupted by dangerous actors who seek power, fame, and money at our expense. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find truthful and reliable sources of information. I switched to publicly funded PBS for news. There are plenty of good characters out there trying their best to provide fact-based information, but they are often villainized or drowned out by the loud voices of the greedy and powerful.
The answer is that academics, journalist, and activists really need to step up their media game to break through the haze of misinformation with the valid and reliable information we need. I see opportunities for new industries to emerge in fact-checking and authentication services. It’s time for academics, journalists, and activists to engage with publicists and social media experts to effectively disseminate truthful information. Gone are the days when an academic journal or conference will suffice. Those with real information need to find the platforms that will break through. Until then, perhaps the answer for the rest of us is to seek out the quiet, less funded but well-documented information. It may be a bit more difficult to find, but good decision making depends on it.