COVID-19 propaganda, fake news, and questions are on my mind today. American cable TV opinion shows are a festival of yellow journalism and fake news. Governments are a fountain of propaganda. Politicians are famously bullshitters, as are many businesses, and every day people.
Right now, the truth of what is actually happening with COVID-19 is shrouded in a fog of the above deceptions. What is really happening, how many infections are there versus those tested, what is the growth rate (the curve), what is the mortality rate, and what is really happening in China, Italy, Iran, The USA and around the world is not so easy to know with certainty.
PROPAGANDA
Propaganda is information that is used primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is presented. IT is often associated with material prepared by governments, but activist groups, companies, religious organizations, the media, and individuals can also produce propaganda.
FAKE NEWS
Yellow journalism and the yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.
In English, the term is chiefly used in the US. In the UK, a roughly equivalent term is tabloid journalism, meaning journalism characteristic of tabloid newspapers, even if found elsewhere. A common source of such writing is called checkbook journalism, which is the controversial practice of news reporters paying sources for their information without verifying its truth or accuracy.
Yellow journalism is based on five characteristics:
1. Scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news.
2. Lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings.
3. Use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudoscience, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts.
4. Emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips.
5. Dramatic sympathy with the “underdog” against the system.
The distinction between lying and bullshitting is fairly clear. The liar asserts something which he himself believes to be false. He deliberately misrepresents what he takes to be the truth. The bullshitter, on the other hand, is not constrained by any consideration of what may or may not be true. In making his assertion, he is indifferent to whether what he is says is true or false. His goal is not to report facts. It is, rather, to shape the beliefs and attitudes of his listeners in a certain way.
QUESTIONS
As we navigate the so called pandemic, we need to be asking questions. What is truth? How do we know if something is true? How do we verify? Who can be trusted?Something I am thinking about is, who or where are we not hearing any reporting about COVID-19? Make a list. First on my list are Russia, and Eastern European countries, especially the former Soviet countries. I looked at the tracking map and there are cases. Russia has very few for its population by the way. I am not saying there are not infections there. I am saying I have not heard them mentioned at all on news sites, TV, podcasts, blogs, and so forth. Why?
Folks, it’s time to ask questions. A lot of questions. I am no conspiracy theorist. I did a lot of research and thinking about widespread global panics in the aftermath of Y2K. I have done due diligence research and built contingency plans for continuity of business where I work based on my governments actions and directives.
Nevertheless, it’s time to sift out what is actually true. What is verifiable. Who can we actually trust to present verifiable, evidence-based data and fact about what is real? How bad is this virus, really?
