Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but not to their facts

In his book The cult of amateurs from 2007, entrepreneur Andrew Keane warned that the Internet has not only democratized information, but also that true knowledge, that is, facts, are slowly being replaced by the wisdom of the crowd, blurring the lines between fact and opinion, truth and speculation.

Today, Kino's words more and more resemble the reality of the political, social and cultural landscape we inhabit - a world in which, among other things, domestic media, tabloids, officials produce fake news and disinformation on a large scale, which as a rule find their way to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds. .

Certain acquaintances, colleagues and friends were the target, but they also indirectly experienced the increase of hatred and misinformation on the networks. Many of them believe that this rising tide did not exist until it washed over them, and if it did exist, it was a stream, not a river. Is that right?

Just a cursory look at history reveals that misinformation, fake news and propaganda are not new phenomena of the 1931st century, but phenomena almost as old as the human race. Even the denial of entire nations, states and the creation of false countries has a long history (Manchukuo XNUMX, Palestine-Israel relationship, etc.). As Juval Noah Harari says people have always lived in a post-truth age. Homo sapiens is a post-truth species, whose power and survival depends on the creation of stories and the belief in them. From the Stone Age to the modern age, myths have served to unite and hold human collectives together, creating categories of WE and THEM. We can blame Trump, Putin, Facebook, TikTok, DPS, DF, SPC and domestic tabloids for creating, spreading and promoting fake news, but we just have to remember that centuries ago people locked themselves in mythological bubbles, for which there is no scientific evidence . Even today, things are essentially the same. Only the fake news media is different. That's why some fake news just persists forever.

Truth has never been less on people's agenda than it is today - just at the moment when there is a real need for it. How did this happen and why did it become an endangered species?

Part of the problem is the fact that most people will not spend hours proving what is true, but conspiracy theorists will not be stingy in their efforts to convince you of the correctness and veracity of their often extremist, racist and false views, in parallel with hitting face the facts. Joseph Goebbels, the supreme master and wizard of propaganda, explained his method by saying: A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.

A famous observation by Daniel Patrick Moynihan that everyone has the right to their opinion, but not to their facts it is more timely and relevant today than ever before. Polarization in society has become so extreme that people hardly even agree on facts, which should not be questioned, such as the existence of the corona virus. So how can we interpret the current protests of parents in Bijela, Bar and Podgorica against the wearing of protective masks in schools, with the aim of protecting the health of their children - but as paradoxical, right? However, judging by the interactions on the networks and the announcements of new gatherings, it can be said that such conspiracy theories are gaining popularity.

Such a sequence of events has been accelerated exponentially by the social networks themselves, that is, their algorithms, which connect users with like-minded people and provide them with customized news feeds that reinforce their prejudices, allowing them to live in echo chambers of their own beliefs, which are rarely, if ever , call into question.

People don't like too many facts, at least not those that contradict them - because they don't want to be wrong. Don't be convinced that showing the globe and empirical evidence will really convince the flat-Earth conspiracy theorists or the dangers of 5G. The power of identification and groupthink is pervasive and hard to resist, even when attitudes seem to be the product of our own will.

The damage continues to mount. YouTube's recommendation system, designed to get people to watch as many videos as possible while spending a lot of time on the platform, guides viewers through a series of algorithmically generated tunnels of misinformation and hate. If you play a video where the author explains why the 5G network is harmful, before you know it you'll be on video number X. In 2017, Facebook introduced a live streaming function (laiva) and was soon inundated with videos of violence. The current year of the Montenegrin network was marked by covid-19, which turned out to be a fertile ground for the propagation of conspiracy theories and fake news that fought for common sense and the recommendations of relevant domestic and international institutions and bodies.

With all this in mind, networks have taken a number of measures, employing additional moderators, working in synergy with fact-checking organizations.

Sensationalism reigns on the media scene, which captures the attention of observers, and then this attention is sold to those who place advertisements. Also, if a question seems important to you and you are ready to enter into an online discussion about it, read scientific literature and relevant websites, not Facebook statuses, Twitter posts, Wikipedia or tabloids.

To conclude - it is ALL of us individually responsible to invest time and effort in exposing our biases and checking the sources of information, be it newspapers, portals, TV or individuals. The essence of modern propaganda is not only in misinforming or pushing a certain agenda and narrative to the fore, but in exhausting critical thinking.

Fake news and misinformation should not be silenced and accepted. We must fight TOGETHER against fake news and misinformation, but only through education. In this way, we gain herd immunity, maybe not to the corona virus, but to the virus of fake news and conspiracy theories.

Digital Forensic Center