Summer

Wednesday, May 11, 2022 3:30 PM

Truth and Consequences

Introduction
Media and social media are areas of communication that impact our lives daily.
Such impacts should be examined closely and consistently for both positive and
negative influences on our lives.
My bias in this matter is as a retired teacher, Canadian and researcher.
Although the paper is meant to be succinct and short I cover a number of
topics that I feel are related to the current misinformation age. Each topic
could itself be the focus of research papers and some of the topics deserve a
book. I’ll start with “truth”.
Philosophy and Filters
Definition of truth: Foucault; “Truth” is linked in a circular relation with
systems of power that produce and sustain it, and to effects of power which
induce and which extend it (Foucault 1977, 2000)
Foucault conceives change in society differently from Marx, supporting a
system of resistance that is localized and incremental instead of revolutionary
and totalistic. (Weir, 2008)
This may have changed significantly in the 21st Century as the advent of
social media produces a capability to take localist resistance and generalize
them in Marxist fashion.

Thinking “filters” such as language and culture have a purpose in our lives.
The former allows at the best of times rational examination of issues that
impact us. Communication and culture are intertwined with the filters
through which we examine the facts. At worst however one can easily see
that unwanted filters (health problems, stress, etc) can cause confusion and
mistakes. Add to this the misrepresentation of facts by various agencies and
chaos may ensue.

It comes to me that any comparison between Marx and Foucault should be

accompanied by the filters of time and culture. Marx wrote in a time of
growth of new and old profession and the beginning of the Industrial Age
while Foucault was situated in the later modern world.
With these two one should understand that parts of the milieux that
informed them was the speed of communication, mixing of cultures
facilitated by travel and generation of ideas, one quite different from the
other. Foucault wrote in the machine age with varied working populations
and the rise of science necessitating a need for critical thinking skills as
mistakes with machinery can often be disastrous or fatal. Against this Marxist
social theories worked through culturally similar populations, a different
dynamic requiring similar handling and often with fatal results as
well.(Zuidevaart 2017))

Media Misinformation and media panics

“There is a fine line in journalism between reporting that enhances ‘the
minds and morals’ of members of the public and reporting that causes fear
and panic, intentional or otherwise” (Luce 2017)
This quote from a paper on the responsibilities of journalists addresses the
heart of the pandemic, politics and even war. That people trust the media is a
belief that is slowly dying and being replaced with social media, “alternate
truth” and propaganda. As the above author mentions the panic signals a
change in societal structures as people struggle to replace or protect the
norms that govern them. In this manner the churches and other structures
struggle against the new, which may or may not be “better” in a way that
more resembles Foucault than Marx.
As a student of history I can only hypothesize that such changes have
occurred regularly but are now exacerbated by the digital age where the old
school assumption of professionalism supported by the pillars of society are
being challenged by self ‘truths’ or post modern examination by the
individual, activist and purposeful collectives such as “Black Lives Matter”.

Pulitzer is noted for creating the art of sensationalism, later ‘yellow’

journalism. From his legacy and will the Pulitzer Prizes evolved, hardly a
sterling achievement. Yet despite the ethics involved the prizes are still
awarded yearly. Does this affect journalism and the new reporters vying for
success? On top of this only 15 billionaires control the mass media, leaving
decisions for millions in the hands of a corporate monetized few. (Vinton
2016)
To put the media in the hands of a few is an invitation to misinformation. The
needs of local news to remain economically viable often put them in danger
of joining or being taken by conglomerates, resulting in the suspicion and
mistrust that other corporate needs trump the need for truth. Politics
however also plays into this as politicians derive advantage for their positions
through mouthpiece media.

Some misinformation reasons; OECD in media

Actions recommended by authors of a number of reports for the OECD
remain consistent between pre and post pandemic writing. It is important to
realize that the advice was available to all government and corporate entities
well before the pandemic. (Rackson and Jacobzone 2012)

Sharing misinformation without checking its accuracy was a prevalent factor

during the pandemic. Such misinformation could come from well meaning
sources or be actual disinformation from for profit or political origins. (Bates
Ramos and Gosmann 2018)

The education of the populace was sorely needed in a time of increasing

communication overload and filtration, our youth being the most likely to
read and repeat the misinformation.

A record of the ongoing plague in sequence of time begins with the WHO, a
group that was quick in denying wrongdoing and then saw the WHO got in
front of the media misinformation investigation. Right or wrong it is evident
that no one was ready despite the amount of OECD and other warnings from
2012 on. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau suggested the old systems of
WHO and healthcare needed an overhaul but wanted to get through the
pandemic first. (Gilmore 2020)

The morphing of data and voices occurred frequently. Most people didn’t
check accuracy of the information before acting on it and of those who did
most used the method of checking other sources. Few of any sources were
experts in the field of epidemiology and of those some had a political agenda.
Trump losing in America was a focus on nearly every media outlet, and may
have contributed to the disaster as suspiciously, vaccines were announced
completed only days after his defeat despite predictions of early access in
some countries before the electioneering began in earnest. (Garneau and
Zossou 2021)

The resulting dystopian framework may have contributed to anti vaccine

protests as oddly even Trumps own party became rabid ‘anti vax’. This of
course stimulated the new government to produce mandates, a plan that
would make them unpopular and therefore unelectable from the beginning.

Dystopian movies have been popularized for quite a long time as they play to
the populaces fear of the future and the struggles between factions in our
society. From the totalitarian to the completely democratic, the corporate to
the anarchist, the fears of both sides are expressed in a fantasy context to
make them more palatable yet they do prove a point. Despite this training, as
it were, the fantasy became reality, with the populace behaving at times like
“zombies”. (Jackson, 2021)

Some solutions to misinformation - social media and algorithms action

research
Meta/Facebook, Twitter and war bans act as part of the cultural panic.
Facebook has faced charges of aiding and abetting violence, most noticeably
in the Rohingya matter. The methods used to create these violent situations
were organized and created on Facebook. Since the advent of and admission
of culpability no compensation has occurred. (Nowkim et al 2017)
In addition the multi national Facebook review board has turned into a
corporate information wall to no doubt protect the company at the users
expense (see appendix “B”)

Elon Musk threatening Twitter & Trumps 2nd1st (a “truth social” type of
platform) creates alternatives but no real solution. Whether grandstanding or
not the pair seem to simply be taking advantage of the larger picture; that of
societal change entrenched in politics. The politics itself may prevent a
sustainable solution. (Livingston 1977)

Canada’s Bill c10 oversight ( through the CRTC etc) instead of foreign
oversight (as Meta does) is a preferable outcome considering the
meta/Facebook method and corporate insularity as portrayed in appendix B.
The point of an open oversight by various levels of government pro or con
and media whether with vested interests or not seems a lot more informative
if not definitive. At least the public will know a number of sides to each story
by credible sources instead of the facts and decisions disappearing behind a
corporate wall. The creation of groups to investigate, pro or con is ongoing
with government taking a hand.

‘Ministry of Truth, made in USA’ is at least an attempt to deal with the

misinformation, though the gridlock in the government may never see legal
actions correcting the media. On a foreign territory the American media and
other groups are finding their behavior censored and the target of lawsuits
since the American rules don’t apply. Unfortunately the censoring and
lawsuits do not necessarily protect the truth but can be targeted as anti
democratic, for profit, cultural or other social issues.

On one hand how can cultural bias be prevented in a multi ethnic oversight
board especially considering the micro aggression investigations currently
being undertaken in various institutions? (DeAngelis 2009) On the other
hand, is a mono cultural situation better to understand the nuances of social
media posting?
What parts of the media war that corresponds to the greater cultural war
may be engaged in shaping public opinion, ‘hearts and minds’? Any
publication that reports unseen and ephemeral forces that the public may
not notice demands explanation and hovers on the edge of propaganda. It is
important to have actual proof of such claims and the rigor of the proof
elevates the report from conspiracy theory to the believable. One way to
obtain this in a social sciences setting is through surveys triangulation and
double blind interviews wherein the truth of items like ‘micro aggressions’
may be validated. (Bennett and Livingston, ed 2011)

My conclusion and further

Summarizing all this, we have a dichotomy of change vs tradition, a fairly

typical expectation with humanity. This is increasingly complicated by the
political, activist, social and media filters to create chaotic misinformation
and propaganda or disinformation.
The education of the young to inform themselves is not without hijacking by
interest groups, formal or not, driven by profit and corporate interests.
Complicating this even honest brokers may find that cultural differences and
mores influence their decisions regarding information.
The governments have the power to regulate media, yet they too are stymied
by a multitude of factions that threaten voter participation. It is also a
dynamic that foreign interference exists, whether directly or through a
diaspora of immigration.
What remains for us is to take the broken tools that we have, guided by the
few solid advisors such as the OECD and work to fix the situation. The bills in
both America and Canada are a start. Though the perpetrators of
misinformation may cry “freedom of information” and threaten, Canada is in
a unique global position to do more good than its size represents, with a
history of deeds in helping others.
The pandemic laid bare the cracks, now we must delineate these flaws and
repair or renew. The use of the very same flawed social media to do that is a
boon if we use it well. Education is slow but relentless when curricula are
repaired. The recent spate of international lawsuits against media moguls
gives hope that the American media can be challenged, should be challenged
by our own CRTC.
We are in a battle between the forces of the status quo and those of change.
This will always be but is far faster today due to communication. Some of the
change forces are correct, others are not. Only a concerted effort by
dedicated people can determine the future of truth.

Citations (need work)

(1)Weir, Lorna (2008) The Concept of Truth Regime, Canadian Journal of
Sociology, 33(2)
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjs/index.php/CJS/article/download/608/
2369/7554
(2)Benitez-Burraco, Antonio (2017) How the Language we Speak Affects the
Way We Think, Psychology Today ; Psychology Today.com
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-biolinguistic-
turn/201702/how-the-language-we-speak-affects-the-way-we-think
(3)Zuidevaart, Lambert (2017) Truth in Husserl, Heidegger and the Frankfurt School, MIT
Press 2017

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/truth-husserl-heidegger-and-frankfurt-school
(4)Luce, Ann (2017) Moral Panics: Reconsidering Journalism’s Responsibilities.
Journalism, New Challenges (pp393-408)
https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/cjcr/files/2013/10/JNC-2013-
Chapter-24-Luce.pdf
(5)
Pulitzer Prize (2022, April 22). In
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize

(6)Vinson, Kate (2016) These 15 Billionaires Own Americas News Media

Companies. Forbes 2016

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-
own-americas-news-media-companies/?sh=2ebee854660a
(7)
Foucault, Michel (1994) (1977). Entretien avec Michel Foucault pp140-160 in
Ditz et ecrites 1954-1988 Paris : Gallimard. Vol 3 p160
Foucault, Michel (2000) Paul in Rabinow series ed Essempntial Works of
Foucault. New York; The New Press. Vol 3 Power J. B. Faubion ed. p 132

(8)Radison, Jack and Stephane Jacobzone (2012) Public Governance and

Territorial Development Directorate Public Governance Committee. OECD
Conference Center Paris France (2012)

https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?
cote=GOV/PGC/HLRF%282012%294&docLanguage=En
(9)Bates, Richard, Gabriel’s Ramos and Angela Gosmann (2018) Toolkit For
Protecting Digital Consumers, OECD 2018
https://www.oecd.org/digital/consumer/toolkit-for-protecting-digital-
consumers.pdf
(10) Suarez-Alvarez, J. (2021), "Are 15-year-olds prepared to deal with fake
news and misinformation?", PISA in Focus, No. 113, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/6ad5395e-en
(11)Gilmore, Rachel (2020) “No institution is perfect” : Trudeau Promises to
Support WHO in wake of Trump Ultimatum CTV News. Ca 2020
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/no-institution-is-perfect-trudeau-promises-
to-support-who-in-wake-of-trump-ultimatum-1.4944875?cache=tzbrsjtr
(12)
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/fighting-
misinformation-in-the-time-of-covid-19-one-click-at-a-time

(13)Garneau, Karine and Clemence Zossou (2021) Misinformation During the

Covid-19 Pandemic; Statistics Canada 2021

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00003-
eng.htm

(14)Jackson, Josh (2021) The 50 Best Dystopian Movies of all Time. Paste
Magazine, (2021)
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dystopian-movies/best-dystopian-
movies-of-all-time-1/

(15)Nowkim, Mohammed et Al ( 2017) Specific Instance Under The OECD

Guidelines For Multinational Enterprises. Dept of Business Enterprise and
Innovation 26. Kildare st Dublin 2

https://www.victimadvocatesinternational.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/12/2FINAL-REDACTED_20211209_VAI-complaint-
against-Facebook-.pdf

(16)Livingston, Steven (1997) Clarifying the CNN Effect, Harvard R-18 1997

https://shorensteincenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/r18
_livingston.pdf

(17)
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c10_2.html

(18)Bennett, W Lance, Steven Livingston, Ed. (2011) The Disinformation Age,

Cambridge University Press 2011

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-
core/content/view/1F4751119C7C4693E514C249E0F0F997/9781108843058
AR.pdf/The_Disinformation_Age.pdf?event-type=FTLA

(19)DeAngelis,Tori (2009) Unmasking “racial micro aggressions” American

Psychological Association vol 40 no 2
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/microaggression

(20) Cohen, S. (2002). Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and
Rockers. London: Routledge

Appendix A
Various quotes and citations of interest are in this part, they can be expanded in future
papers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oversight_Board_(Facebook)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15305058.2015.1064431

https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjs/index.php/CJS/article/download/608/
2369/7554

Appendix B

My adventure with the ‘corporate truth’ of meta began with a comment regarded as hate
speech vs Russians killing people in the Ukraine. It then became ludicrous as a Weird Al
Yankovic quote turned into a dystopian nightmare of corporate and possibly robotic
interference.
The very “busy” oversight board takes few appeals and only for policy, not necessarily
compassion or human caring. This seems to show no other alternative. They never
answered.