Category Archives: Fake News

America, the Gullible

21 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by in Fake News

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Donald Lattin thinks I watch too much MSNBC and CNN to gain information and viewpoints. I have never watched either station although I saw a shared feed from Bagdad during Desert Storm bombing from CNN. We all saw that since he was the only reporter sending out live feed.

As I have said before, those people, especially the President, watching Fox are unable to separate the actual news from the Murdoch/Ailes scripted propaganda. My friends who watch Fox really believe the script until they are given the truth. However, they still continue to watch because they have been repeatedly told the reporters only give fake news. So by implication Fox’s real news is fake and the scripted talking heads are truthful? Too often they have been caught using Russian bot info on social media as their source!

Those people watching Fox must believe wrestling is also real. An even worse place to get “News” is the internet and social media which, too often, have Russian’s and China’s bot farms as the source. All of our intelligence agencies have aid this but people continue to believe. Perhaps one day, a song will be written named “American, the Gullible.”

Need to Know

08 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in Fake News, Journalism, Politics

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What do we need to know? Do we need to know that the White House is so chaotic that over 25 people have left and many more will go in a couple of months? Do we need to know that most of the Cabinet is incompetent and are owned by business and special interests? The media keeps us informed on all these issues and a myriad more.

Some people have literally stopped reading, listening, and watching the news because it scares them. I have never heard so many people talk about leaving the country until a new President is in office. Some even voted for Trump and then regretted it. A few of my friends are news junkies like me and are also getting burned out on the daily reports and leaks of mismanagement and back-stabbing.

News is addicting too many of us so last year was like Fentanyl to news junkies. This year is shaping up to give us an overdose. The question is how can an average voter make an educated evaluation of who to vote for if they don’t pay attention to the news. Citizenship demands being informed by real news.

My advice is to pay as much attention to local, state, national and international news as you can tolerate because it will shape your opinions and attitude. Please stay away from Russian websites, tweets and comments, far right and left commentaries, the internet, and if Sinclair Broadcasting gets WGN, add it to the list. If the news makes you physically sick, then carry a bucket!

Unbelievable

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Fake News, Truth

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Politics must play a part of being President and some lying must be done to preserve security and military plans. I seem to remember reading President Washington lied a few times in putting our first government together. Every President since has needed to lie to protect us and some did it for themselves. The most egregious before Trump was President Nixon after Watergate.

Our current President started lying almost immediately after the inauguration. Almost every day afterward he has lied at least once. They range from the size of his inauguration audience and voting to his successes. On occasion he has lied multiple times in the same day on the same topic on television and then said it was fake news. Sometimes the lies affect our allies, CIA agents and our international companies.

Being President is an ego trip which most Presidents have handled very well. Carter underplayed the office the most with Truman and Eisenhower next. The rest played it within the norms. Having a thick skin and understanding that insults are a part of being the leader is the same in almost any country. How the leader reacts is how people decide if they should be President.

Our current President seldom tells the truth about anything forcing his supporters and supportive media to lie also. Most of the lies are to boost his enormous ego. His outrageous narcissism creates most of his problems and his lack of self-control.

I do not know if he changed his personality if his approval rating would ever get much over 35%. How will he react when the House and maybe the Senate become Democratic majorities in ten months? Belittling an opposition party and its leaders will mean little gets done. A lot of Republicans might vote with Democrats to override vetoes.

A Divided People

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Bad Influence, Fake News

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Where are we trying to go with the National character? Today’s news is full of stories concerning bullying and sexual assault on one side and aggressive behavior in the form of pushing gun ownership and shooting.

What happens to people when we tell our youth they must act civilized and at the same time shoot at the center mass with their video games? How can a pre-teen or teen spend hours being aggressive in a video and then turn off the same skills they spent hours cultivating? Each year the games get more realistic and each year players are supposedly told to be nicer to others. Which side of the forming brain is winning?

Have we created a monster problem with our military because we promote a be-kind to each other and then brainwash them into being happy about killing others? After release from service, they are expected to regress to civility. After World War II, the soldiers were slowly let back into society so they could forget their war skills. Today the reintroduction can be hours. No wonder suicides are so prevalent.

How can we, as a nation, convince people it’s necessary to carry a gun and at the same time cherish the rights and feelings of others? Are we creating a nation of schizophrenics who are born loving everyone and then many are convinced by parents, friends, internet and social media to hate certain people. Gun manufacturers, retailers, and lobbyists pay millions each year to scare people. A few people are creating a permanent multi-divisional nation. Why do people vote for or idolize people who try to divide us by saying just the opposite from what they do. Why does the religious right excuse adulterers and sexist behavior?

Maybe we only need two divisions — ethical and moral, and those who are racist, adulterers and immoral!

Fake News Isn’t Reality

23 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Fake News, Journalism

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What is fake news? Is it news that our siloed society chooses to believe even if it is entirely beyond any reasonable logic. Two great examples are President Trump must be an alien in disguise or a Russian mole. An oldie still going around is government black helicopters are plucking people from their homes and depositing them in the Montana concentration camps!

This type of story comes out of those rags at supermarket checkout lines. Reasonable people laugh at such absurdities but too many believe them When they see the talking heads on Fox News or MSNBC taking a news item and twisting it around to suit what their primary audience wants to believe, is it fake news? It may not be completely true the first time it is discussed, but a few hours later the script has devolved to more fiction than fact.

In spite of common sense, people believe what they read on the internet and social media. Some of the posts are completely outrageous but agree with what a segment of our siloed society wants to believe. People, not just Americans, are susceptible to the stories put out by people who have an agenda. All but one American knows the Russians had a huge influence in the last Presidential election. Their inference is still going on with divisive fake news. RT News is the overt arm of Russian propaganda. Their covert internet and social media groups expand the divisive ideas or start them so RT can report them as news. Division, not unity is Putin’s goal. It is the goal of many Americans, too.

How does a person avoid fake news? Stay away from obvious fake sites and stories. Read things outside your silo to learn things you might not like. Avoid non-journalistic talking heads catering to your silo and preventing you from a real understanding. Read opinions you don’t agree with to see what others think. Above all, watch and read mainstream media’s news. Remember, a measure of intelligence is how well we perceive reality!