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The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

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Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#61

Post by water8 »

ILMostro7 wrote: post #4

Once misinformation becomes accepted as truth, or a valid mindset even, it doesn't stand out as blatant falsehood. Questioning whether 1 + 2 is actually 3 or a secret way to hide the true meaning of pi is akin to a dog chasing its tail to excercise his brain.

Nobody feels the need to label you as misinformation when you go around saying 1+1=3. They will simply know you’re a cuckoo and ignore you. The misinformation label seems to only get applied to information that could be harmful to a political party

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#62

Post by dathinab »

softwarebeware wrote: post #46

IMO the author displays confirmation bias in the post. He doesn't think about the effects of a higher availability information with a lower ability to seek out other contradicting points of view. If you're deluged with carefully chosen factual information, that's more convincing than outright lies. And this is often the situation we are in more often than not these days. Along with an inability to spot logical fallac…

we have higher ability to seek out contradicting views.

just most humans nerver do so

they at most look for badly done cintradicting arguments to confirm their few

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#63

Post by [deleted] »

legitster wrote: post #19

The biggest change is how aware we are of others' views. The internet thrives on showing you people who are "wrong". I wish we would do away with public opinion polling as news. It does nothing to actually inform or help people, but it makes us obsessed with culture wars. Only 60 something percent of Americans believed the moon landings were real the year they happened. Imagine if someone flashed on the screen to tel…

[deleted]

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#64

Post by ebiester »

Tycho wrote: post #3

“Misinformation” appears to be a term used by people who don’t want to take on the burden of proof when accusing someone of lying.

How do you take on the burden of proof to prove that high ranking US officials were not involved in an organized child-sex ring involving various pizza restaurants?

Or any of the various other QAnon work.

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#65

Post by mikewarot »

It is important to remember that the media seems to only call out "misinformation" when it is from sources that threaten their market, Have you seen any apology for their failure to uncover the lies that got us into needless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

I am very selective in my trust of media these days. I don't want to be lead into collective insanity any more.

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#66

Post by scarecrowbob »

pdonis wrote: post #27
legitster wrote: post #19

The biggest change is how aware we are of others' views. The internet thrives on showing you people who are "wrong". I wish we would do away with public opinion polling as news. It does nothing to actually inform or help people, but it makes us obsessed with culture wars. Only 60 something percent of Americans believed the moon landings were real the year they happened. Imagine if someone flashed on the screen to tel…

> Only 60 something percent of Americans believed the moon landings were real the year they happened. What is your basis for this? Were you alive then? I was. I watched the first Moon landing on television. Nobody was talking about how it was faked.

I sm skeptical on that number as well. I looked for the source. In the 10 minutes that I was willing to spend on it, I only found this:

"A July1970 poll found 30% of Americans declaring Apollo 11 to be a fake."

https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_millions-still-believe-1969-mo...

Couldn't find the original source.

It looks to be something like US 6% of the population at the moment (Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/3712/Landing-Man-Moon-Publics-V... )

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#67

Post by helen___keller »

zozbot234 wrote: post #54
helen___keller wrote: post #36

The author is correct that in any debate, the prominent skeptics are often extremely well informed (joe Rogan on vaccines, in his example). I think what the author is missing is that Joe Rogan and the likes are not spreading misinformation, but spreading tools for misinformation. My mother in law is very deep in misinformation. I’m not talking simple anti vax, I’m talking “trump will raid the Vatican for stolen gold…

> My mother in law is very deep in misinformation. I’m not talking simple anti vax, I’m talking “trump will raid the Vatican for stolen gold so we can be a free country for the first time since the 19th century” misinformation, like QAnon tier stuff. This is likely the big causal factor here. Your MIL is definitely not typical. The notion that conspiracy nuts are specifically being influenced by "skeptic talking poin…

She was pretty normal until around 2018 on the contrary. I’m sure losing her job in 2008 and ending up socially isolated because she doesn’t speak fluent English didn’t help.

I’m not claiming ordinary and well adjusted people easily fall prey to misinformation if that’s what you’re trying to refute here.

It’s simply an observational fact that conspiracy groups wield skeptic talking points as weapons and that modern technology allows efficient dissemination of this discourse (as with any discourse).

Whether or not there’s a “misinformation problem”, per the title, is actually an empirical question that neither the author nor I have the tools to answer

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#68

Post by loudtieblahblah »

If you didn't buy that Iraq had WMDs and that there was a BinLaden to Saddam connection, you were on the side of misinformation. The entire media and political establishment was at odds with your take.

If you clamp down on misinformation, you're doing nothing more than allowing the establishment to be wrong without consequence, and creating consequence when the average person is wrong.

No one labeled the NY Times a perpetuator of misinformation when it blatantly lied about evidence for the Iraq War.

Snopes and Politifact have outright lied and no one cares.

No one cares when the bad info, lies, buried studies or anything else works in favor of power.

This isn't about who's right and who wrong.

Its about power. It's about who's allowed the freedom to be wrong and who isn't. Who has the ability to manipulate the public and who doesn't.

And the power to dictate that is the power to win every public debate no matter how much merit you do or don't have.

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#69

Post by dboreham »

I find it odd that nobody seems to mention the similarities between all this and religion. Widespread belief in things that can't possibly be true. Adherents can't be persuaded otherwise despite incontrovertible evidence. Sounds familiar? Perhaps it's baked into the firmware.

Re: The “misinformation problem” seems like misinformation

#70

Post by edgyquant »

dboreham wrote: post #69

I find it odd that nobody seems to mention the similarities between all this and religion. Widespread belief in things that can't possibly be true. Adherents can't be persuaded otherwise despite incontrovertible evidence. Sounds familiar? Perhaps it's baked into the firmware.

That would be odd, if nobody mentioned it.
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