Fake News [collage poetry] 9:27 AM 5/8/2018

A free press would advance knowledge and create a more informed public,
Chinese monks were block printing the Diamond Sutra as early as 868 A.D.
A press free from censorship would circulate an open debate of ideas,
Fake news, as it turns out, is no recent phenomenon.
Propaganda created by the state to influence public perceptions;
an effort to combat the problem of fake news,
There’s too much sensationalism, misinformation and polarization.
The attacks were vicious and personal.

What counts as a trusted source?
In today’s political climate, we can’t even agree on basic facts.
more data will make a difference.
the same graphs over and over
Why can’t they just see? It’s so obvious!
There’s no shortage of peer-reviewed studies [are]
no match for an emotional appeal.
We ignore facts to actually listen to the truth.
We find ways to ignore facts that challenge our ideals.
Give everyone an equal chance to voice their opinion.
A wealth of research suggests
two heads are better than one

People tend to overestimate.
They tend to underestimate,
tend to think they are as good as everyone else.
People tend to insist on their own opinion.

However, it remains unknown.

In collective decision-making
members of a group weight each others opinions,
make a joint decision,
making full use of the information available,
separated by a screen and not allowed to communicate
sensitivity to the contrast.

How do we identify the experts?
Emotions may be the key to changing minds.
Information
carefully crafted to attract people
just one of the many calculated ways.
The hearings are expected to shed light.
Meant to trigger strong feelings,
this can heighten our arousal, our emotions.
The ways people are affected by seeing information.
“The news is broken”
A possible risk is there, whether it’s real or not,
just a simple divide-and-conquer approach.
That leads to polarization, (which) leads to arguments among ourselves.
That sort of news got plenty of amplification.

Though there is no evidence.

Propaganda is simply how it works in the digital age.
sit down to answer questions in front of Congress.
This stuff, it’ll burn you
access to information is easier than ever
much more to sift through than [in the] past

And there is still a lot that isn’t known

Be skeptical because scientists are unsure
believe the Earth is flat
science isn’t real to them.
to gather evidence, check sources, deduce, hypothesize and synthesize
they will come to the truth on their own.

In the midst of the current debate about fabricated facts,
devoted to government spending and revenue,
widespread suspicion of what the government does and where the money goes.
people get weary of paying taxes not knowing why, exactly.
“numbers are a tool to tell a story.”
it is how people interpret the numbers

A fact-based narrative cannot be separated from who’s telling it.
distorted facts and biased opinions may take a while to be detected
Unless the gatekeepers act fast
exploding with distorted news that is supposed to be trustworthy.
there is no “view from nowhere”
“there’s no there there.”

people with personal views invade their work.
readers come with their own baggage and prejudices.
But we must not forget that every story is told by an individual
A fact-based narrative cannot be separated from who’s hearing it.
Why is that 99% of the sex perps are Democrats?
Why does the media fail to report the facts?
journalists have to resort to sensationalism and propaganda.
that should tell you all you need to know.

So let me get this right.
My reaction was instinctive,
I’m sick of the #FakeNews.
Time to do my part to get out the TRUTH!
Another day, another piece of junk from the press.
How many countless hours did you spend discrediting
secret federal surveillance
shamed for spreading a phony story.

which is why Im deleting
filling up the void
Just getting this out there before I go.
You have zero credibility to criticize

Freedom of expression is not freedom to spread lies.
After false accusations surface
you can’t trust everything you hear.
The American people still remember
#WakeUpAmerica before its too late!

(mostly from the Smithsonian, NPR and Twitter – in that order)