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Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times: The Age of Misinformation

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Disclaimer: This is not an enlightened social commentary. It is simply a statement of sordid facts that everyone seems to know but no one seems to say out loud.

Modern times are considered to be an 'information age' where information is available freely to all thanks to the amazing communication tools we have; and information is more widespread and accessible than ever before. People are free to access information, follow the opinions of others, and to express their own opinion.

In recent times before this, the only source of information for anyone was mainstream media. This was used by mainstream media to great effect, completely shaping the opinions and knowledge of the people to their own agendas. The advent of the information age was supposed to stop this, with people being able to access the truth and bring forth their own opinions.

However, the exact opposite has occurred, spurring on what I like to call the age of misinformation. Spreading the (falsified) word has become as easy (or maybe hard) as creating the next viral Facebook post. This is perpetrated by the many Facebook fan pages and gossip sites we see as our sources for news today.

It is shockingly easy to completely fabricate a post and spread it. If it gains enough traction, you can essentially create fake news, spreading propaganda as you see fit, giving you the power that the old mainstream media used to wield. Check out the following gem:


Regardless of the circumstances under which this post was published and regardless of what political situation it addresses, it is quite evident that the above post is completely fabricated and presented as the truth. It is absolutely possible to very easily publish whatever you like and send it out through social media channels. The shocking thing is that a lot of people will believe this and share it as it supports their political view.

Another type of post takes some news item or piece of information and warps it out of context, aiming to play on the prejudices that one group of people will have against the other. Take this for example:


Now, setting aside the circumstances of this post or the chain of events that led to it, this kind of post simply aims to play on the issues between private and government universities. While on the surface it looks like a post from a concerned citizen, the end goal is to make use of an issue between two groups of people and get as many likes and shares as possible. I'm not talking about this affecting one side of the debate only: someone could've created a similar post incriminating a private university and had the same effect.

So what compels us to believe what we see on Facebook? What makes us share something, that in retrospect, is questionable in its truthful quality? There may be a multitude of explanations for this. One is, we are inherently inclined to believe what we see/hear as news from those close to us. What is Facebook, but a collection of content generated by those close to us? So someone close to you shares some post, and you believe it is true, and you share it; someone else shares it because they saw you share it, and the chain continues. Another reason is the crass tribalism we carry in our hearts since the early ages of humankind. It may be with regard to politics, where we live, what school/university we studied at; it is how we create our petty divisions. When we see something that affirms our beliefs that our tribe is the best or that other tribes are the worst, we share it regardless of whether it is true or not.

Thus is the nature of the age of misinformation. It is a disease for which I believe there is no cure. We will continue to blindly spread lies and to burn in our own flames. In this, as in many other stupid things that we do, we are irredeemable.

And it's not just in Sri Lanka that this happens; there is a Flat Earth Society that believes that NASA fabricated all photos and videos of Earth from space, gravity is a lie and that Australia doesn't exist. They have their own annual conventions and meetings on a global (lol) scale. The age of misinformation is nigh, and we may never ride out its wave. 

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