Deception, equivocations, fraud, lying, misstatements and omissions amount to forms of rampant misinformation that poisons our ability to make sound decisions surrounding nearly every aspect of our lives. And some wealthy and powerful people are okay with that, especially when they benefit financially and politically from it. A few days ago, I watched a congressional hearing wherein Republican congressmen berated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairwoman for questioning social media companies that permit dangerous misinformation to proliferate on their sites. The MAGA Republicans challenged her authority to determine what constituted misinformation. I thought to myself that this is the root of the problem.
Since Donald Trump brought his distorted relationship with reality, his introduction of “alternative facts”, and his branding of unfavorable journalism as “fake news”, too many in this nation have abandoned the notion that objective truths actually exist. Truth is simply the expression of verifiable facts. We have allowed opinions, feelings, hunches, theories, and unsubstantiated accusations to live on par with truth as if truth no longer exists. Misinformation is simply a broad term to describe any departure from truth. If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is restricted from regulating fraud and deceptive business practices, then we are in great trouble as consumers. But some people, beyond the wealthy and powerful, don’t find this disturbing.
I have an immigrant son-in-law who can be described as a libertarian. He is against government regulations because he believes that the free market will eventually correct the poor behavior of businesses. He believes that allowing consumers to experience heartache and injuries leads to the eventual demise of those bad businesses. We argue over the merits of government regulations all the time. He thinks they are unnecessary while I think they are. At the heart of both our arguments is survival. He believes that the best businesses will ultimately thrive as customers abandon products that don’t work as advertised or when people are harmed by bad products. That is how markets are designed to work and he is correct. The problem as I see it that real people are injured, killed, and harmed in the process. The damage can be irreparable. I care deeply about the immediate survival of people and damage to the environment that is caused by deception motivated by short-term profiteers. And absent government regulation, the problem can only get worse.
With the introduction of artificial intelligence, the ability to distinguish between what is true and what is misinformation will become more difficult without new government regulations. It’s already difficult to find a reliable source of news and information. This has driven me to watch more congressional hearings in real time and to pay closer attention to people with actual credentials for information. It is evident to me that the credibility of politicians and news stations have been compromised by greed. I’m reminded of that Biblical passage in I Timothy 6;10 that says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil….”
In practice, my son-in-law is correct. Since corporations and billionaires have bought and paid for news outlets and politicians, the marketplace of information has been set free. We as consumers are forced to question everything and to rely on primary sources for information as much as possible. But it’s time consuming and few people have the time to invest in fact-finding. This is why I find it so disappointing that very few people have turned off Fox News, even after a court found them responsible for lying about the 2020 election being stolen and having to pay millions for defamation. Their viewers never even heard about it. I lament that the majority of Americans continue to get their information from unreliable sources and suffering because of it.
However, as an optimist, even given the diminished power of the FTC, I believe that we will reach a tipping point when the pain, damage, deaths, and injuries to people, communities, and the environment caused by misinformation become too much to endure. Only then will the free-market demand truth from the news media and politicians. I predict that greater truth and more reliable sources of truth are in our future. I just hope it isn’t too late for our children, grandchildren, and the planet.