Dear Liberals, you did this
We do live in a post truth era folks. its origins are from the introduction of relativism into societal by liberalism. Relativism states that the absolute cannot be known. And therefore we must view information gathered as human as relative to what we will learn in the future.
This was to combat the right's absolutist views of right and wrong and has merits. But like every good idea it becomes dogmatic and twisted. So while the Left shrieks about admittedly in sane statements like "alternate truths" they should know that this is the logical conclusion of relativism.
This is an issue near and dear to us. Remember the scene in Clear and present Danger where Harrison Ford's character says "Not black and white, Right and Wrong" in response ot the villian's statement that "the world is gray, not black and white".
Truth is unknowable yes. But using dogmatic relativism to further your own agenda creates false equivalencies.
So the Fake News moniker fits as Trump states it. The statement originates from the doctrine of relativism on the left. It has been used for years by lawyers in court to muddy waters and discredit facts.
And now, the right has co-opted it to their advantage, starting NOt with Trump but with FOX news years ago when they did things like "Teach the Controversy" and "Fair and Balanced"
Then they would laughingly pose false equivalencies just to rile up their fan base. It was brilliant.
Is the earth round or a cube? TEACH THE CONTROVERSY. This paved the way for pseudo science to enter. Which then gave way to empowering people to think their explanation that jesus rode dinosaurs had scientific merit.
Next the left basically said "Screw it, if the truth is unknowable, then we will put out what we want"
Secular trends of social media cheapened journalism, media giants see their franchises diminishing, and boom, you have a recipe for them being shills for Pols.
Once again the right has taken a leftist ideology and used it as a tactic against them. Now the left is behaving like dogmatic dinosaur riding idiots. Instead of furthering the discourse liberals by and large are shouting down ANY opinion different than their own. Nobody has a monopoly on ignorant denial.
- Soren K. Group
YOU'RE LIVING A LIE
Let's get real about fake news; a broadly used phrase with a largely overstated impact. Many blamed the scourge of fake news for Trump's election. Yet, as we approach the hundred day mark of his administration, only about two percent of his backers say they regret the vote. That suggests that people who support Trump liked what they saw and they still do. That said, fake news and the spread of misinformation is clearly a societal problem. And it's unclear that the proposed fixes will make things any better. I'd argue that transforming massive tech companies from providers of agnostic social platforms into editors of our online experiences is equally if not more dangerous than phony news. Let's start the discussion with a question posed by Farhad Manjoo in the NYT Mag: Can Facebook Fix Its Own Worst Bug? "Fake news was only part of a larger conundrum. With its huge reach, Facebook has begun to act as the great disseminator of the larger cloud of misinformation and half-truths swirling about the rest of media. It sucks up lies from cable news and Twitter, then precisely targets each lie to the partisan bubble most receptive to it." + Recode: Now Facebook will suggest articles to get you out of your filter bubble. (I'd be more interested in help getting out of my social networking bubble.) + "What would happen if you combined professional journalism with fact checking by the people?" Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is launching Wikitribune to find out. + I'd imagine more people trust search results than shared news articles. So it may be an even bigger deal that Google is rewriting its powerful search rankings to bury fake news. But again, your view of the world is in that hands of a tech company. + Fake news is bad. Fake search results might be worse. But neither seems nearly as dangerous as the never-ending wave of state bills aimed at allowing schools to teach science as if it were a form of dystopian fan fiction. From Vice: Climate Denial In Schools. + And, somehow related: Pro-wrestling fans are experts on authenticity. "When a performer falls to the ground, Smart Fans look for the tiny blade he's using to cut his forehead to make the damage look more convincing. It's Smart Fans who follow the plot leaks and who know what will happen in each fight. It's Smart Fans who know which feuds are scripted and which ones probably represent real animosity."
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