The Arbiter of Truth

[Sparko]

So, the New York Times is urging Biden to create a "Reality Czar" to combat "misinformation"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/t...formation.html

How the Biden Administration Can Help Solve Our Reality Crisis
These steps, experts say, could prod more people to abandon the scourge of hoaxes and lies.

I’ve spent the past several years reporting on our national reality crisis, and I worry that unless the Biden administration treats conspiracy theories and disinformation as the urgent threats they are, our parallel universes will only drift further apart, and the potential for violent unrest and civic dysfunction will only grow.

Joan Donovan, the research director of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, suggested that the Biden administration could set up a “truth commission,” similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the planning and execution of the Capitol siege on Jan. 6. This effort, she said, would ideally be led by people with deep knowledge of the many “networked factions” that coordinated and carried out the riot, including white supremacist groups and far-right militias.

Appoint a ‘reality czar.’
Several experts I spoke with recommended that the Biden administration put together a cross-agency task force to tackle disinformation and domestic extremism, which would be led by something like a “reality czar.”

Gee, now the liberals are basically calling for a Ministry of Propaganda, who will determine the "truth"

Isn't that supposed to be the job of the free Press? to expose lies and corruption?

Wake up liberals! You are the new fascists! Limiting free speech, controlling the truth narrative. That is what fascists do!


The free speech liberals in the 1960's are rolling over in their 'graves'

PS - "1984" was a warning, not a how-to manual.

[seer]

Gee, now the liberals are basically calling for a Ministry of Propaganda, who will determine the "truth"

Isn't that supposed to be the job of the free Press? to expose lies and corruption?

Wake up liberals! You are the new fascists! Limiting free speech, controlling the truth narrative. That is what fascists do!


The free speech liberals in the 1960's are rolling over in their 'graves'

Like AOC's Truth Commission:

AOC says commission being 'discussed' to help ‘rein in’ media environment after Capitol riot

https://www.foxnews.com/media/aoc-me...n-capitol-riot

[Cow Poke]

Ministry Of Truth 1984

As with the names of the other ministries in Oceania, the name Ministry of Truth means the opposite of what it says. If the Ministry of Love is the place of torture and hate, the Ministry of Truth is where lies are manufactured. Winston works here, rewriting old news articles to reflect the Party's latest version of reality and throwing the old articles down a "memory hole" where they are incinerated. The Ministry of Truth reflects the Party's belief that power is the only truth and that those with the power can make the "truth" into whatever they choose.

The power of Minitrue, as it is called, shows in the enormous glittering white pyramid of its building, which towers over and dominates a landscape of sagging houses and rubble. A hint of what nonsense-manufacture goes on inside might be suggested by the three slogans of the Party emblazoned on it:

[Sparko]

Ministry Of Truth 1984

As with the names of the other ministries in Oceania, the name Ministry of Truth means the opposite of what it says. If the Ministry of Love is the place of torture and hate, the Ministry of Truth is where lies are manufactured. Winston works here, rewriting old news articles to reflect the Party's latest version of reality and throwing the old articles down a "memory hole" where they are incinerated. The Ministry of Truth reflects the Party's belief that power is the only truth and that those with the power can make the "truth" into whatever they choose.

The power of Minitrue, as it is called, shows in the enormous glittering white pyramid of its building, which towers over and dominates a landscape of sagging houses and rubble. A hint of what nonsense-manufacture goes on inside might be suggested by the three slogans of the Party emblazoned on it:

I would say that "you can't make this stuff up" but clearly Orwell did and now the liberals are doing their best to imitate it.

In the future, are they going to look back at Orwell as a prophet like Nostradamus?

Tearing down statues, erasing and rewriting history, trying to stop free speech and censor people, controlling the truth. Redefining language (like "racism" and "gender"). It is all stuff from 1984. They are using it as a handbook.

[kccd]

So, the New York Times is urging Biden to create a "Reality Czar" to combat "misinformation"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/t...formation.html

How the Biden Administration Can Help Solve Our Reality Crisis
These steps, experts say, could prod more people to abandon the scourge of hoaxes and lies.

I’ve spent the past several years reporting on our national reality crisis, and I worry that unless the Biden administration treats conspiracy theories and disinformation as the urgent threats they are, our parallel universes will only drift further apart, and the potential for violent unrest and civic dysfunction will only grow.

Joan Donovan, the research director of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, suggested that the Biden administration could set up a “truth commission,” similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the planning and execution of the Capitol siege on Jan. 6. This effort, she said, would ideally be led by people with deep knowledge of the many “networked factions” that coordinated and carried out the riot, including white supremacist groups and far-right militias.

Appoint a ‘reality czar.’
Several experts I spoke with recommended that the Biden administration put together a cross-agency task force to tackle disinformation and domestic extremism, which would be led by something like a “reality czar.”

Gee, now the liberals are basically calling for a Ministry of Propaganda, who will determine the "truth"

Isn't that supposed to be the job of the free Press? to expose lies and corruption?

Wake up liberals! You are the new fascists! Limiting free speech, controlling the truth narrative. That is what fascists do!


The free speech liberals in the 1960's are rolling over in their 'graves'

PS - "1984" was a warning, not a how-to manual.

What is true is that lies are being propagated by social media and irresponsible "news" sites.
Lies like Trump won the election or Obama was born in Kenya. Or that Dems are cannibalistic pedophiles.

How do you propose that a free and open society counter misinformation like this?

[Sparko]

What is true is that lies are being propagated by social media and irresponsible "news" sites.
Lies like Trump won the election or Obama was born in Kenya. Or that Dems are cannibalistic pedophiles.

How do you propose that a free and open society counter misinformation like this?

The same way it always has, by countering it with the truth. You don't need to appoint a government official to determine what the truth is. The truth is evident and corresponds with reality. There will always be conspiracy theories on every side. This isn't just a conservative issue. And isn't that also what the Free Press is supposed to do? Expose the truth, counter the lies and stop corruption? You don't put that power in the hands of the government. Then it becomes propaganda and they control the narrative. Have you learned nothing from history? The first thing a totalitarian government does is eliminate the free press and start their own propaganda machine dispensing the "truth" as they want it to be. Then they start eliminating any other sources of the truth, like history books, newspaper articles, and now the internet. China is famous for blocking information from the internet and limiting what their people can see.

I am sure you liberals would love to see a Minister of Truth run by Biden to counter what you think are "lies" but then what happens when a Republican gets in office again and appoints HIS Minister of Truth and dispenses his version of the truth?

[Cow Poke]

What is true is that lies are being propagated by social media and irresponsible "news" sites.

This is called free speech, and others are just as free to post their truth.

Lies like Trump won the election or Obama was born in Kenya. Or that Dems are cannibalistic pedophiles.

Fact check sites exist for that very reason.

How do you propose that a free and open society counter misinformation like this?

By exercising their rights in a free and open society to counter with facts. It is NOT the place of the government to establish "truth", when they have proven over and over and over how incapable they are of actually managing problems in a fair and balanced way, or even in a decently economic way.

Allowing "the government" to determine what "truth" is is a HORRIBLE idea.

[rogue06]

So, the New York Times is urging Biden to create a "Reality Czar" to combat "misinformation"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/t...formation.html

How the Biden Administration Can Help Solve Our Reality Crisis
These steps, experts say, could prod more people to abandon the scourge of hoaxes and lies.

I’ve spent the past several years reporting on our national reality crisis, and I worry that unless the Biden administration treats conspiracy theories and disinformation as the urgent threats they are, our parallel universes will only drift further apart, and the potential for violent unrest and civic dysfunction will only grow.

Joan Donovan, the research director of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, suggested that the Biden administration could set up a “truth commission,” similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the planning and execution of the Capitol siege on Jan. 6. This effort, she said, would ideally be led by people with deep knowledge of the many “networked factions” that coordinated and carried out the riot, including white supremacist groups and far-right militias.

Appoint a ‘reality czar.’
Several experts I spoke with recommended that the Biden administration put together a cross-agency task force to tackle disinformation and domestic extremism, which would be led by something like a “reality czar.”

Gee, now the liberals are basically calling for a Ministry of Propaganda, who will determine the "truth"

Isn't that supposed to be the job of the free Press? to expose lies and corruption?

Wake up liberals! You are the new fascists! Limiting free speech, controlling the truth narrative. That is what fascists do!


The free speech liberals in the 1960's are rolling over in their 'graves'

PS - "1984" was a warning, not a how-to manual.

Note that Joan Donovan is the same one who blamed conservatives for all of the rioting last Summer in a piece called How an overload of riot porn is driving conflict in the streets, claiming that "right-wing agitators" are using social media as a "machine to spread a narrative of lawless rioting."

Yeah, the rioting was caused by conservatives reporting on the rioting. If they had just gone along with calling the rioting "mostly peaceful protests" while standing in front of buildings fully ablaze then there wouldn't have been any rioting and buildings set ablaze.

[rogue06]

What is true is that lies are being propagated by social media and irresponsible "news" sites.
Lies like Trump won the election or Obama was born in Kenya. Or that Dems are cannibalistic pedophiles.

How do you propose that a free and open society counter misinformation like this?

Let's not forget that it was the Hillary Clinton campaign that first popularized the notion that Obama was born in Kenya.

[CivilDiscourse]

What is true is that lies are being propagated by social media and irresponsible "news" sites.
Lies like Trump won the election or Obama was born in Kenya. Or that Dems are cannibalistic pedophiles.

How do you propose that a free and open society counter misinformation like this?

Do you propose putting an agency together that the next "trump" can use?

[Cow Poke]

Let's not forget that it was the Hillary Clinton campaign that first popularized the notion that Obama was born in Kenya.

She only did that to sucker the Republicans into being called "birthers". She was SO very smart.

[Sparko]

Allowing "the government" to determine what "truth" is is a HORRIBLE idea.

Fact check: True.

[Cow Poke]

Whenever we declare "the government should do X", it's always good to ask, "OK, but what about when 'the other guys' are in power"?

[rogue06]

Whenever we declare "the government should do X", it's always good to ask, "OK, but what about when 'the other guys' are in power"?

I can't remember who it was that said that when the Democrats are out of power they always act like they will never be in power again, and when they are in power they act like they'll never be out of power again, but that is a spot on analysis.

[Cow Poke]

I can't remember who it was that said that when the Democrats are out of power they always act like they will never be in power again, and when they are in power they act like they'll never be out of power again, but that is a spot on analysis.

YEARS ago, when I listed to Rush Limbaugh - I think it was when W won - Rush observed that his audience was worried that Rush wouldn't have 'fresh material' because he no longer had a Democrat (Clinton) in power to mock -- and Rush made the point that Democrats are HYSTERICAL when they're out of power, and he would have PLENTY of material to work with.

(sorry for being Shouty )