The Thin Lines Between

 In this age of information overload, all competing for your loyalty, belief, funding, behaviour and more, what is propaganda, selective data, truth, marketing, fact, opinion, misinformation and falsity?

At a click, there are parties out there in cyberspace who spawn messages out in such huge numbers at a speed only their wifi can channel them.  We do not know, or have met, such entities or persons who send them - and they need out be human.

On any matter these days, we are bombarded with a spectrum of views.   The first check we consciously must be aware is who is the deliverer of the message.   Does it come from the horse's mouth, a middle broker, an agent of the source, a paid distributor or a more neutral person?

How is the message worded? Does it come with a balance of articulated various views, or does it come hammering our senses with only one view?  Are shouting words or phrases used to push each of us accept the message, instead of allowing the recipient an opportunity to think independently?

Is the message condescending, or utilise oppressive humour to knock down other parties?

Is the information only focusing on selective matters and show strong indications of cherry picking?

Can the recipient validate what is driven down the throat with other sources of information?

Does the information raise sentiment, emotion and provocation?

Does each of us consciously remind ourselves of our own biases, preferences and beliefs when processing information given to us?  I know of individuals who are so rigid in their thinking - they quickly dismiss information received from the other side, or deeply have suspicions of any such information.

Do we remain mindful of the context in which a message, video clip or weblink is sent to us?  Are messengers really wanting something from us, or consistently trying to influence our mindset?

I am taught in school that fact requires solid evidence to support its validity.  Opinions are so easy to spot - millions of opinions are sprouting like plankton in high season on social media.  Propaganda is also obvious - or it can be subtle, especially if they are expressed by authority in society.

Misinformation can involve so called experts, academics and regulatory authorities.  Selective data and evidence can be cleverly structured to convince individuals and the masses.  Many an occasion we are told what is good or bad, when reality is not so clearcut and can vary.

What is truth depends on perception, cultural upbringing and past experience.  So I learnt that truth need not be factual, but facts are true.  When facts are not accepted, the recipient has had other versions of what is truth in the mind, conviction and context.  I may be sold to a falsity which I have been taught to be true.

The blurring of things can become so significant when we confront matters of personal health, belief and politics.  We can be overtly or covertly pressured to conform when we are active members of a specific community in every sense.

How do I handle it when what  I have always held to be truth turns out to be against the facts?  How do I feel when selected facts given to me are discovered to be cherry picked to support an otherwise non factual menu?

We remain vulnerable when we are given pieces of information that stir our emotions, pushing us further to accept falsity as truth.   Fragments of truth can be found with sharpnels of falsity in a misleading brew.  The roar of mass approval can cascade us into this situation when we had hardly a chance to independently think for ourselves.

In shaking the chaff from the grain, I realise most of us take comfort in what we consciously or subconciously want to hear. That is critical to advisors and speech writers working for powerful politicians.

I get most gullible when I receive information from those I have trusted all my life.  Beware of those who then transform beyond their original perceived selves as they get caught up in commercial greed, huge funding and access to power.

On relatively small matters, it can be a fun game to discern from information that looks kosher but is really dodgy.

On more significant matters, increasingly there is no point to argue or challenge each other on who is "right" or"wrong".

The reality can be that we have all been fooled, manipulated like puppets on a string.

#yongkevthoughts