Why are fake news, lies, exaggeration etc so popular?

Why are fake news, lies, exaggeration etc so popular?

Why is truth hard to find?

Message from the third meadow (see Archie Hills book) --people like lies even when not really convinced by them-because the lies are more entertaining, more fun, than truth which is usually boring and dull.

 A news headline shouting that “nothing happening” may be true and honest, but people would not bother to read what follows the headline.

In our modern world of media saturation, of information overload, we are bombarded with sound bites, snippets designed to get our attention. But, having got attention, the “story” or report may indicate something that is different from the assumption placed by the headline. As a fictional example, we see a headline saying a warning of widespread dangerous flooding. If we read the report, it shows that a remote area of the country may experience heavy rainfall in 1 weeks’ time.

People watch “You tube” videos with voice over stills and clips of British royal family, then complain that these news items are not in mainstream newspaper. They claim the mainstream media are covering up facts the establishment want hidden, Bu it is probably because the video reports are not 100% true- but the viewers of “You Tube” chooses to believe “You tube” and not any accountable source of information. This may all seem harmless to anyone who checks multiple news platforms and so learns what is comic strip fiction and what is verifiable fact but there are way too many people who do not make that effort, do not apply a checking system of any sort. Conspiracy theories flourish due to this. This is not a claim that all conspiracy theories are totally baseless, but it is how they gain traction.

What is disturbing is that this unaccountable distortion of truth and reality, has entered politics, they are used to try and persuade the public that a particular politician is some sort of criminal and monster. Untrue but some will believe it and place a ballot room vote based on lies.

There is manipulation by both sides of the arguments about immigration. It is claimed by one side, that illegal economic migrants 80% of them male and under 40 years old, are being called asylum seekers - The rules of seeking asylum are disputed, some say it is clear they must seek asylum in the first safe nation they reach, while others claim the asylum seekers may select the safe country they wish to go to. (the notion that their chosen destination may not welcome them seems to be ignored) – If they have to claim asylum in first safe nation then, since any European state is considered safe. those who use people traffickers to travel to selected destinations  cannot be genuine asylum seekers. On the other side of this argument are those who believe in open borders and welcome anyone and everyone, they claim the right-wing political parties are deceiving the working classes by claiming it is an invasion by criminals and terrorists. It is clear that  both sides could be distorting truth to persuade others, and it suggests that manipulation begets manipulation.

In Britain we have rules that are supposed to ensure commercial advertising is truthful and accurate. But some companies appear to have “sales” of goods with reduced prices, that seamlessly move from summer sale to Winter sale, to Christmas sale, to Spring sale,  with no gap between them. We have the “invention” of influencers, who cause increased sales of a product by showing these on podcasts etc. This seems to be an extension of the film and TV industries “product placement” – a processed once banned in UK where a particular brand of a product is viewed in a dramatic setting, seen by the viewer with no obvious “advertising.”     This is advertising by association, the product producer need not make any claims for the product, and so cannot be guilty of inaccuracy, since it is a part of a dramatic fiction. It is a subtle form of manipulation  but seems to make money for some.

Social media is a great spreader of information, but there seems very limited accountability as regards what is being disseminated. Opinion and verifiable evidence-based truth get blurred together. Beliefs as to future events, based on past experience are shown as if factual already.  Fact can only be established after an event. A favourite is reporting about a change that took place at some time in the past and claiming it is good or bad, based on comparison to a situation where the change did not take place. Since truth is only verifiable after an event and since the change has taken place and so the truth about what would have happened if not make the change, is simply not available; such comparisons are speculation and opinion, usual a biased (in one direction or the other) opinion, yet they get shown as if factual, real official statements. What is worse is that some people believe these comparisons.  

Fake news, disinformation, lies and deceit, are now so common that most just accept them and apply scepticism to all they read, watch or hear, but not everyone does this. Young people are subjected to such a wide range of dubious information, and it is a genuine concern that educators appear to have allowed their personal political beliefs to shape the filters they  show the modern day young adults, when it comes to sorting reality from fiction, truth from lies.