The Real Fake News: Weapons of Mass Distraction

12 Jun The Real Fake News: Weapons of Mass Distraction

In the era of Fake News, our most important facet of consciousness — attention — is being hijacked. This is what happens when you combine the perfect storm of Russia, Photoshop, Facebook, Twitter, and Donald Trump. Now they’re even talking about Deepfakes, such as the edited video that made Nancy Pelosi look drunk. There is even software now that alters video simply by typing speech. This makes is possible to disseminate very convincing disinformation.

But the reporting and repetition of outright lies are not the only Fake News. There is something even more insipid that is consuming us all . . .

IT’S NOT ABOUT TRUMP

The Narcissist-in-Chief’s midnight Twitter rant, whether accurately reported or not, is yet another distraction from the things that really matter. And we’re falling for it, clicking on the titillating bait of “What did Trump say this time?” and driving up ratings which only perpetuates the process. Our airways are filled with headlines that in a saner time would never even become news.

Because they shouldn’t be.

Not when we’re facing the dire consequences of climate change, when our democracy is being coopted in plain sight by the wealthy out-of-touch, and civilization is hurling 90 miles an hour toward a cataclysmic cliff.

Here’s some things that are more important than the latest barbs sent back and forth between Trump and other world leaders. Read them if you dare:

83 Environmental Regulations rolled back by Trump

This needs no introduction, but here’s the list of those rollbacks completed or in process, summarized succinctly and organized by category: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html

DNC and Climate Change: The Democratic National Committee not only refuses to hold a debate on Climate Change, it threatens to blacklist any candidate who takes part in such a debate outside the DNC. To learn more, read or listen to the interview with candidate Jay Inslee, with Democracy Now hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales. Watch all the way through and you’ll learn other tidbits, like how $27 billion in government subsidies are given to oil and coal industries (while Healthcare is too expensive), and how Trump wants to rename methane, (a potent greenhouse gas), and call it the “Freedom Molecule.”

A Felony to Protest? Texas wants to make it a felony to protest or interfere with a dangerous pipeline installation, even for landowners on their own property. Since Trump came to power, 17 states have introduced similar bills, originally developed by ALEC, the American Legislative Council, and Trump is trying to take it federal, with a potential 20 year sentence.

The Coming of 5G Technology. We assume that every leap in technology is a good thing. But the implementation of 5G technology, which will allow faster data transfer and enable self-driving cars has potentially serious health risks that haven’t been sufficiently studied. I’ve read arguments on both sides, but the potential risks seem huge. The fact that the public hasn’t been educated on this and has no say about this exposure says a lot: https://www.gaia.com/article/5g-health-risks-the-war-between-technology-and-human-beings

This may already be enough to spoil your morning, as the bad news has to be taken in small doses, and we certainly know there’s so much more it’s overwhelming. That’s why Fake News is so popular. It’s our panacea. It allows us to be angry at the wrong thing.

I firmly believe, that if people are given the truth, through exposure to accurate information, they will eventually do the right thing.

We need to know how bad climate change will be, to take action in the narrow window we have to offset the worst of it. We need to know that our government is forwarding an agenda so harmful to humans and other life, it’s on the order of war crimes. We need to know what’s being done under the radar, while we’re distracted with Twitter feeds. We need to be awake, aware, and armed with truth so we can discuss what to do.

Good information is good nutrition regardless of the taste. Fake News is carcinogenic.

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