Where Did You Hear That?
I talk about media – mostly social media – in The Sell. And I mention my experiences working in media throughout “Jack in the Box.” But this ever-changing topic bears more discussion.
News has become entertainment, selling us their (or their corporate owners’) opinions and political agenda, ultimately keeping the public ignorant of the truth and biased to those opinions. Basically, they’re “dumbing us down,” appealing to the uneducated. Remember the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Everywhere we turn, we’re being told that what we’re hearing is fake news. The people saying this are branding everything they don’t want to hear – or don’t want you to hear or agree with, regardless of its level of truth – as not true. The art of fake news has as its tenets: deny everything, lie, fabricate the truth, never accept responsibility. It’s the “wag the dog” principle, meaning to purposely divert attention from important issues to something of lesser significance (e.g., distract people, keep them focused on blaming someone or something else for their problems, manipulate their emotions, tap into their anger). In the 1997 film of the same name, a Hollywood team is brought in to salvage an incumbent’s re-election by creating a fake war. It’s all smoke and mirrors, with the public none the wiser. A tagline from the movie reads: “Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog.”
According to Ryan Martin, an anger researcher and chair of the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, anger is the most viral emotion online and often what drives people to share content. “It also rationalizes things such as belief in voter fraud (nearly non-existent) and the birther movement,” repeated claims by Trump and others that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore ineligible to be president. This claim was debunked many times over by FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, and the most credible news organizations, but people choose to believe anyway.
Creating this divide and fanning the flames of negative attitudes keep people from focusing on the truth or real issues. Getting people to choose sides and discredit the other side any way possible – Democrat vs. Republican. FOX vs. CNN. Christian vs. Muslim. Straight vs. Gay. Whites vs. People of Color. Native-born Americans vs. Immigrants – creates an “us vs. them” mentality. You must pick a side, and you must never agree with the other side, no matter what the reason, no matter how irrational or ineffective the policy or possible political deception and corruption. In other words, rationalize the truth. If you don’t, you’ll be ostracized and blackballed by the people on “your” side. This is NOT what this country is all about. This perpetuates divisiveness, not inclusion or acceptance.