The Great Information Experiment

Censorship Is ****

5 Min Read

Calling Out Deceptive 'Fake News' to Contrast Your Own Idea of Truth

Once upon a time, the internet was going to make information free! We could all have access to everything, and the best ideas would get nudged up to the top. It was going to be beautiful until people began to conspire. 

Instead, we got. . . well, this bollocks. A world where screaming 'fake news' became a political tactic! Now almost every major event comes with a hundred and eighty different versions of what actually happened. Nowadays it's controversial to say, 'do your own research' because if you do, you'll be seen as another of those 'crazy conspiracy theorists'. 

The Irony Fest

Here's what's genuinely fascinating: those who spent years telling us to 'not trust authority' now expect us to entrust them with what information we're allowed. Meanwhile, the people who used to be the authority frantically want us to believe they're the rebels.

It's like cringing at a wacky game of musical chairs, except the music is 'Welcome to the Monkey House!' I can just see the presidents, prime ministers, business tycoons all dancing around the last seat signposted '100% Prime Truth,' — it's asking for trouble. 

The whole thing kicked off properly after Brexit and Trump's 'fake news' catchphrase. Since then, we've had a parade of fancy conferences with celebrities, former presidents, and senators all evangelizing about social media conspiracy theories. They all try to sell us this half-baked notion that we need the internet controlled for our own good. They call it 'protecting democracy' - but nothing says freedom like censorship, right? 

The Pattern Recognition Game

Let's be honest - misinformation isn't new. People have been spinning stories since the alphabet was first scratched on wet clay. Power and authority continue to strut around town with the same swagger because they hold on to the narrative. Then the internet appeared. 

What's new is the scale and speed. A rumor that used to take weeks to travel from village to village now circles the globe in minutes! 

But here's where it gets interesting: some of yesterday's 'conspiracy theories' turned out to be front-page news. The lab leak theory, government surveillance programs, corporate influence on research - these all followed the same pattern from 'fringe theory' to 'legitimate concern' to 'well, actually...'

Maybe if we stopped calling-out 'conspiracy theory' for simply doubting the official story, things might improve? It's quite simple when you think about it.

Who's Watching the Watchers?

This is where things get properly complicated. If we need someone to filter information for us, who chooses the filters? If we need fact-checkers, who fact-checks the fact-checkers? 

The media moguls are in on this too, weaving their news stories tighter than a Hollywood plastic surgeon's booking schedule. Then we have the humble PR company, whose doors are banged by the likes of Harvey Weinstein and other tarnished people who want their reputations polished. Who will decide what's true? Spoiler alert: not you!

The Trust Deficit and Control Games

The real problem isn't that people believe weird things - people have always believed weird things. The problem is that trust in institutions has plummeted, and the more control the powerful try to take for themselves, the more they erode the very democracy they claim to defend! Stupid, isn't it? 

When we lose trust in the mainstream media, we will obviously go looking elsewhere. When we don't trust government statements, some of us will start asking uncomfortable questions. Currently I am at a point of doubting political experts, like others I've also become my own expert.

You can't really blame people like me, can you? How many times have we been told something was absolutely, definitely true, only to find out later it was more complicated and total nonsense?

Look at how the story is controlled in various reports and even historically. After George Floyd's death, we saw massive global movements, politicians taking knees, crowds chanting - but pretty much everyone got called racist at some point, including our own royalty and country. So who really controlled that one?

The Goldilocks Problem

So we're stuck in this weird middle ground. Too much control, and you get authoritarianism. Too little, and you get chaos. We need something that's 'just right' - but who decides what that looks like?

Some people welcome the best tech companies to moderate the major social apps more aggressively. Others will fend those companies off. It's the same with government oversight. I prefer a smaller government and more economic growth and freedom. 

Final Thought

Here's the same old cliché advice - we need to doubt the news sources and social commentators who so gracefully impart wisdom upon us. They'll sit on your forehead and tell you that you're wearing a Norman helmet.

The world seems simple, because those who explain it to us are trying to make it simple. However, those at the top are quite complicated. It really is an age of critical thinking.

What do you think? Are we heading toward a more informed society, or are we just getting better at disagreeing with each other?