Post-Truth Research Truth, a difficult concept to imagine, is all around us, yet nearly unattainable. It applies to the laws that operate our world, yet we never fully grasp the concept. According to the American Thinker, Truth is seeing things as they really are and ascribing to them their appropriate valuations. This means that we observe the environment, then decide how important and relevant the observation is. However, this way of deciphering the algorithm of the world is inefficient, using previously made laws to create new ones, allowing for more error and ultimately inaccurate facts. There is a second aspect of finding truth. Some may believe something is true, though actual facts fail to support that claim. This is called post-truth, …show more content…
Two sources of this misinformation can come from those who don’t know better, so they create their own reality, and then those who intentionally try to mislead others by way of social media or other sources regularly viewed by the public. The reason we so easily accept this information, lacking in credibility, is because it appears appealing to us. It interests us, captivates us, and draws us into the belief that whatever we are reading is in fact a true statement. For example, given Donald Trump’s notable history as president, however short that time has been, there have been more than a few instances of people creating falsified stories, loosely based on obscure facts, regarding his outlandish behavior since entering office. These stories are soaked up by news sources and leaked to social media sites because they play on our emotions and ethics, stirring up a different feeling than the truth would. And after people read, and believe, these sources, they begin to spread like wildfire, online, on tv, and through the spoken word. It has become a post-truth era, where countless ideas which we believe to be true are in all actuality incorrect, whether the sources are simply ignorant to the truth or deliberately choosing to believe and tell a different …show more content…
Much of what we know today of current events comes from online sources on social media or as eye-catching links on the side of a website. These articles, though there could potentially be truth to them, almost always rely on captivating simple statements and stories that connect with the reader on an emotional level, rather than a logical one. This affects students’ education for the simple reason of our nearly inseparable connection with our cell phones and social media. This has become our go-to source for anything we want to know, and since fake news is so readily available to us, it is what we easily believe is true. The availability of fake news makes it’s presence known in the classroom, where students are distracted from the lesson by groundbreaking stories being shared across every media platform in existence, which a vast majority have access to. Even in politics, where our reliance for leadership lies, is tainted with post-truth information. Facts given to us by the presidential office, cleverly titled “alternative facts” by our highest elected official, show the true effect of how post truth can ruin credibility and trust. It even affects the education given by teachers, those who are paid to educate the next generation of children. History teachers can be swayed one way or another by news channels, constantly pushing out breaking news about
The truth of the world is something that is debatable on how to reach, and what it actually
Truth is in the eye of the beholder. Or is it? Questions regarding the nature of truth have always been central to not only philosophers, but all men (and women, of course) who possess any desire for knowledge. For while truth itself is an elusive concept, it is also the underlying theme of all science -- which is the basis of knowledge -- and so the seeker of learning must first discover his own truth about the world; without a strong belief, the slippery nature of truth will only serve to confuse and mislead the student of life. A person who is lacking a basic understanding of truth can never fully grasp the fine distinction between appearance and reality, yet the ability to separate the two is essential to anyone interested in knowledge at a higher level, where appearances lead only to dead ends. Or do they? And who says appearance is not reality? At the heart of this matter is the conflict between truth as an absolute and the truth of the senses; while this may seem like a trivial matter (truth is true, isn't it?), it is anything but.
According to James Madison, “nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power and to withhold from them information, without which power is abused,” suggesting that the people have the right to learn popular information and learn both sides of an issue (Paul and Elder 2). However, in modern society, the media often do not present both sides of an issue and are inclined to often mask information for their personal benefits. Therefore, the people often learn and understand only one aspect of an issue and inevitably lean towards the bias present in that news account. Indubitably, the coverage in the mainstream news media influences the majority through its bias and propaganda, especially its partisan audience, which only appreciates one side of the news story. Thus, even though news networks may claim that their news programs and publications are completely factual and credible, their coverage of news events is politically, commercially, and racially biased.
“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away”- Elvis Presley. In my mind, truth is defined as being in accordance with fact or reality. There will always be truth to every situation, as it is only possible for something to occur in one specific way. The problem encompassing the idea of truth is the reality that only one retelling of a specific situation can be the full truth. Each individual interprets situations differently. For this reason, in order for the truth to be told, one must simply state what was seen, leaving their personal emotions out of the situation. A story can be said to be true when it accurately portrays the account of which is being told.
Laura Spinney uses a variety of persuasive components and techniques in the article, “How Facebook, fake news and friends are warping your memory”. She uses Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and a variety of arguments to get her point across. Persuasive components have different effects on different people and require skill to use effectively. Laura Spinney’s use of these components is fairly effective at convincing the reader that fake news and misinformation lead to altered memories that affect how people view the past and the future. Spinney uses a wide variety of evidence in a way that convinces readers to change their perspectives in a somewhat successful way. In this essay, I will critique Laura Spinney’s
Beyond many people’s knowledge, the news is not always exclusively disclosing objective facts on events. Rather, the news platform utilize rhetoric to influence its audience’s interpretation on an event. More astonishingly, many people don’t recognize misinformation and thus allow the news platform to subtly force an opinion on their audience. An impressionable audience is the product of our media dependent culture; ultimately, media has the power to distribute biased information and strongly influence the public. However, the audience should bear the responsibility of rejecting the misinformation they are exposed to and to always question the credibility. In an attempt to improve our economy, President Trump attempts to repeal the
As people look back at history they will see that little posts on Facebook and Twitter can be all lies. It’s not hard to make a post, all you have to do is create something that will draw people's attention. Even if you have to smudge the truth a little. When people find something on the internet they automatically think that it’s true, but in reality news stations sometimes have to “spice” up stories to make people watch their station. This is how the truth is sometimes expendable because the little change of words in a quote could change how people view the story. This is why people need to check who they are watching and shouldn’t take every word said is true unless heard by multiple reliable sources. As we as human beings move on, people need to remember that everything on the internet, new, and social media is true. If you want to know if the piece of information is true look it up, if it is there should be a couple reliable sources that have almost identical information. If you can’t find the same information then it is obviously fake. To help create a better democracy always remember to double check your sources and always check the world around you, because you never know what is true or
"Learning social studies is to no small extent, learning to be stupid." (LMTTM 298.) What happens when history teachers and textbooks lie? Not only will the children grow up to be uneducated, but they'll continue to teach the same lies to their own children. The excuse most teachers use, according to Loewen, is they "feel they are supposed to defend and endorse America." (LMTTM 289.) If teachers told students about Woodrow Wilson being racist, Columbus forcing Indians into slavery, or how the FBI worked against the civil rights movement then children would be too aware of how the world works. Is this necessarily a bad thing? No, because the truth is always better than a lie, regardless of how ugly it may be. In order to be a truly good American, children must learn this country's true his...
But how can we be sure that the news is not biased? Are we receiving information accurately, with details being simple to understand? After further research on media framing, I’ve come to realize that it is not rare to be someone who is skeptical of the news. In decades before now, media did a better job serving the public interests inside their news stories (Callaghan, 2001, p.186). But now, journalists may mix up facts intentionally and build a different story (Callaghan, 2001, p.184). How can one feel safe after knowing the media changes stories to keep us interested? Boring stories may not keep someone excited or fully interested, but at least people would not be misinformed and can, in a way, better prepare for what they will face outside their
People today are willing to do anything to avoid facing the truth, and are willing to go to extreme lengths to silence those who encourage them to do just that. A great example in today’s society would be Donald Trump. He faces an astronomical amount ridicule each day because he tells people the truth about the actions of the government and refuses to compromise his beliefs to please others. It is hard for people to accept and understand something that challenges their beliefs. In fact, a multitude of people today would rather be told a reassuring lie than an inconvenient truth. This makes it easy for the government to keep feeding the people lies with very little opposition. Until people begin to analyze these lies in an attempt to discern the truth, they will remain as gullible and naïve as the prisoners chained in the cave and will forever remain at the mercy of their
Truth can be defined as conformity to reality or actuality and in order for something to be “true” it must be public, eternal, and independent. If the “truth” does not follow these guidelines then it cannot be “true.” Obviously in contrary anything that goes against the boundaries of “truth” is inevitably false. True and false, in many cases does not seem to be a simple black and white situation, there could sometimes be no grounds to decide what is true and what is false. All truths are a matter of opinion. Truth is relative to culture, historical era, language, and society. All the truths that we know are subjective truths (i.e. mind-dependent truths) and there is nothing more to truth than what we are willing to assert as true (Hammerton, Matthew). A thing to me can be true while for the other person it may not be true. So it depends from person to person and here the role of perception comes into play. As truth is a vital part of our knowledge, the distinctions between what is true and what is false, shape and form the way we think and should therefore be considered of utmost importance. We often face this situation in real life through our learning curves and our pursuit of knowledge to distinguish between what is true and what is false. The idea of there being an absolute truth or also known as universal truth has been debated for centuries. It depends on many factors such as reason, perception and emotion.
The concept of truth has been a major topic for discussions and discourses, there are multiple theories based on truth. In the works of G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell truth is defined as facts, and corresponds to the way things actually are. Moore defines it as “[there is no] difference between truth and the reality to which it is supposed to correspond” (Glanzberg, 2016). Another concept of truth is called the “absolute truth”, many philosophers argue that there is no absolute truth. The reason for their being no absolute truth vary from ideas like truth is subjective to people, truth is a matter of opinion and that truth is relative to different cultures, traditions and religions (Glanzberg, 2016). Another renowned philosopher Foucault
With the resources and advances in technology that people have today, information can be sent, received, and sent again instantly with just the push of a button. As Loertscher says, getting rid of fake news “is no simple task anymore, since so many people seem to believe whatever they read on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites (44).” The false news is being pushed out into the open and posted for everyone to read, and by that time, it is pushed somewhere else for even more people to read and share. The sharing is an endless cycle and is hard to disrupt. Even if an article which presents inaccurate information is debunked, the damage to the people’s mindsets and views has already been done. There is no reversing that.
From the beginning days of the printing press to the always evolving internet of present day, the media has greatly evolved and changed over the years. No one can possibly overstate the influential power of the new media of television on the rest of the industry. Television continues to influence the media, which recently an era of comedic television shows that specialize in providing “fake news” has captivated. The groundbreaking The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its spin-off The Colbert Report have successfully attracted the youth demographic and have become the new era’s leading political news source. By parodying news companies and satirizing the government, “fake news” has affected the media, the government, and its audience in such a way that Bill Moyers has claimed “you simply can’t understand American politics in the new millennium without The Daily Show,” that started it all (PBS).
Society today provides us with the same false information. There is a great amount of bias and skewed perceptions of events that occur in the world today, nonetheless we put our trust in what we are told. The media is driven by materialistic things such as money and popularity, so the truth is pushed to the side and sugar-coated. Even on the internet, there are a great deal of negative aspects to it as the world can be an ugly place, but we see more ideology than reality throughout the media. Yes, lacking censorship has its detrimental effects as we cannot control others thoughts and feelings, yet this releases the suppression of our rights of speech and freedom. We all have equal rights and freedoms, and freedom of speech is most definitely overlooked. If we truly have freedom of speech then why are we only allowed to say what society wants to