Combating Disinformation in an Age of Lies
The Internet paved the way for the current malaise.
Much of the information that comes from present strong-men dictators must be taken with much more than a grain of salt –whether scientific or in public policy. It needs to be tempered with the realization that strongmen govern with fear and lies. Paraphrasing the late Carl Sagan on the nature of true patriotism, real patriots do not take any leader’s words for granted –“real patriots ask questions” (Sagan). In essence, true patriots resist. Sagan famously foresaw our present predicament in his book, The Demon Haunted World. However, he did not foresee the present the rise of the current Administration (regime). He must be rolling over in his grave.
Skepticism is cited by many authors as the means to positive ends. From psychiatrists and theologians to philosophers and scientists, skepticism is a powerful tool when utilized responsibly. The late psychiatrist M. Scott Peck MD utilized skepticism as a tool for rooting out lies (Peck). Saint Augustine and William of Ockham (Ockham’s Razor)—both medieval theologians who utilized skepticism as a precision tool (Popkin). Perhaps, the most famous philosopher to utilize skepticism is Socrates (Stone). His refusal to accept the status quo stands as an example of sacrifice.
While the aforementioned examples seem to be a long way off from our current situation, allow me to cite some present-day publications and examples. In the publication from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021, Dr. Jevin D. West and Dr. Carl T. Bergstrom from University of Washington, Seattle cite pertinent examples of misinformation prior to the Biden Administration. West and Bergstrom state:
“The internet has changed the way we interact with the media. Some of us still read the morning paper … but many more get the majority of their information on the internet…” (West).
The fact is Trump, and his minions took advantage of an already weakened society that was besieged by misinformation:
“[N]uance falls by the wayside. Headlines often replace factual statements with promises of emotional experiences. Highly shared Facebook headlines pledge to ‘make you cry tears of joy,’ ‘give you goosebumps,’ or ‘melt your heart’ “(Rayson), (West).
West further states,’
“[R]ather than summarize the contents of the story, headlines deliberately obscure them to incite a click (clickbait)” (West).
The internet exploits us to put it in a few short words, and those who fell prey to the Trump were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I do not defend the actions of the present regime, but a spade must be called out for what it is. Moreover, media technology has created a monster that may consume all of us. The need to hype headlines and to further their narratives with hyperbole have allowed falsehoods to be more easily pushed into the public marketplace. Another example cited by West is the COVID-19 virus. A widely circulated rumor that the virus was bio-engineered made the rounds throughout the mainstream media during the pandemic. In fact, there existed a ‘scientific study’ that made that specific claim (Pradhan). However, the paper was eventually retracted. Moreover, the lies generated by the study took hold in the minds of a lot of the mainstream public. The damage was done. Trump continues to seize on that narrative by blaming China for all of our ills. While China does steal trade secrets from the US, the Trump regime has made China into a convenient pariah. That narrative will eventually be turned on its head as China takes our place as a preferred trading partner throughout the world. (However, I digress.)
Interventions
Much of what Trump and his minions have done is to co-opt the truth into echo chambers for their base. While there are no peer review processes that can counter such falsehoods, the majority will eventually tire from his consistent falsehood and narcissism. Moreover, traditional venues of communication may need to make a resurgence if the lies are to be countered effectively. No single man can silence the majority into submission. That much being said, there will be suffering. Children who once benefitted from US-AID have died. Innocent people have already been incarcerated or shipped off to CECOT. More will follow.
However, a majority of the US public is showing signs of losing patience with the Trump regime. As I write this piece, his 100-day approval rating is the worst among all modern presidents. The question becomes: can we, as a majority of resisters, sustain the momentum of resistance? It is not whether we have the will but can the resistance gain traction among more of his former supporters. I suspect it will.
Peck, M. Scott. People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. 1st Touchstone ed, Simon and Schuster, 1983.
Popkin, Richard H. "skepticism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Mar. 2025.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism.
Pradhan, Prashant, et al. "Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag." BioRxiv (2020).
Rayson, S. “Buzzsumo research: 100 Mil headlines analysis. Here’s what we learned.” Buzzsumo (26 June 2017).
Sagan, Carl. Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark. Random House Publishing Group, 2011.
Stone, I. F. The Trial of Socrates. First Anchor Books edition, Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1988.
West, Jevin D., and Carl T. Bergstrom. "Misinformation in and about science." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118.15 (2021): e1912444117.