Disinformation
Copyright © February 1, 2023 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Disinformation is not new. Disinformation has been around for thousands of years.
For example, in the Garden of Eden the serpent told Eve that she could disregard what God had said and that she could believe what the serpent told her instead. We all know how that turned out.
Disinformation is not the same thing as misinformation. Misinformation contains some type of error and the mistake was an accident and it was not intentional. On the other hand, disinformation intentionally contains false information and the purpose of that false information is to deceive people into believing a lie. When the serpent spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden the serpent's words were disinformation and not misinformation.
In the 21st century disinformation is the "politically correct word" that is used for a deliberate intentional lie that is told to deceive people in order to manipulate them into doing things that are not in their long-term best interests.
In the 21st century we are all exposed to more information than we can process. Therefore we become selective in what we pay attention to and we ignore anything and everything that doesn't seem to be relevant to our specific situation.
This article will take a look at how we can do a better job at processing the tons of information that we receive everyday so that we can identify and focus on the things that may have a truly significant impact on our future.
Discussion
Some of the reasons why disinformation is so effective are as follows:
- It usually includes at least one thing that can be verified and that is true.
- It usually includes a perspective that some people would personally like to believe.
- It only presents arguments for one side of an issue and it never objectively presents both sides of an issue.
- It always omits critical information that would immediately reveal it to be significantly biased.
- It always focuses on one or two facts and it ignores all the other really important facts.
- It frequently presents a fabricated lie as being the truth.
- It usually gives us the option to draw our own conclusions based on what is being presented.
For example, if you are familiar with the story of how the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden then does the serpent's disinformation contain some or all of the above elements?
The purpose of disinformation is to mislead us and to cause us to make decisions that would not be in our own long-term best interests.
If the above is true, then how can we combat the flood of disinformation that overwhelms us almost every day?
One way is to look beyond the information that is being presented. This is similar to the old saying, "A person can't see the forest for the trees." Instead of focusing our attention on the few "trees" that are being shown to us, it would probably be helpful if we can pause, step back, and try to see the bigger picture.
Although it is rarely mentioned, the reverse of the above is also true, "A person can't see the trees for the forest." Sometimes so much information is presented that the really important facts are completely overwhelmed by the volume of trivial or insignificant information that is also included. This is almost always the case with a "government report." The truth might be in there somewhere but it is hidden like a "needle in a haystack."
Conclusion
Is there anything we can use to help us quickly and easily identify disinformation. The answer is yes. The answer is the "Holy Bible." More specifically it is the Ten Commandments.
- Do not murder. Only the government has the right to put a person to death. And if the government follows the teachings of the Holy Bible then the death penalty will be the result of a fair and unbiased trial where all the evidence is considered.
- Do not steal. Stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to us. Pretending that we "deserve it" does not make it right. Anytime we take something that is not ours then we are stealing.
- Do not bear false witness. This means that lies should not be told that would cause harm to another person. This is disinformation. God Almighty condemned disinformation as one of His Ten Commandments. If we were to obey this commandment then most idle gossip would immediately cease because it is not based on all the facts and it sometimes based on the worst possible misinterpretation of a real event or a fictitious event. Gossip is an example of disinformation that is intentionally spread on a small scale by people who don't care if they are intentionally and repeatedly disobeying one of God's Ten Commandments. Christians spread disinformation using the excuse that they are only trying to get other people to "pray" for the person who is being intentionally slandered.
- Do not commit adultery. Adultery should be defined by God and the Holy Bible. It should not be defined based on what some people wish to believe. Marriage between one man and one woman was God's original plan in the Garden of Eden. And it is still God's plan in the 21st century.
- Do not covet your neighbor's wife or anything that does not belong to you. If we would follow this one commandment then a great multitude of the problems within our society would cease to exist. It is okay to work hard in order to buy something that we desire. But we should not want to take something that does not belong to us because that would be committing adultery or stealing.
In addition to the above five commandments there are five more. If you are interested in knowing what they are then you can find them in Exodus 20:1-17. And also in Deuteronomy 5:4-21. The Ten Commandments are so important that God saw fit to include them in two of the books in the Holy Bible.
Should the ten commandments be important to us in the 21st century?
May God Bless,
Grandpappy.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com