The willingness to lie
No matter which side of the aisle you are on, it is inarguable that time after time we are seeing politically motivated lying on the rise. When you read a story about some wild charge against a politician and then see 2 or more people tell completely different facts then somebody is lying. The best recent example of this is the Schaivo case. You had family members, friends, nurses, doctors, etc. all providing very vivid and detailed accounts of events and her condition that were always at odds with the detailed account by a corresponding member on the other side. This was not a case of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Somebody on one side or the other was lying. Even in the autopsy report, you had the ME making claims to her condition, countered by a medical expert giving a detailed report showing how these findings could not be true.
With the internet, there is the risk of purposeful lying on one side or another resulting in hundreds of blogs willfully or as dupes repeating the lies. This is not to say that conventional media does not engage in the same behavior because they do.
How can you tell who is lying? One post does not suffice for that answer, but the bottom line is that it takes due diligence and research. Don't just trust a person or source because they agree with your philosophy. Be wary of a person or source that does not back up their claims with credible sources. If they only quote "experts", "some", "associates of..." or other sources you can't access directly be very skeptical (even if they agree with you). Be wary if the bulk of sources are partisan figures (e.g. it must be true about Bush because Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy and Michael Moore say it is true). Examine potential motives beyond partisanship. (e.g. would McCain have any reason to want to 'stick it to Bush' or is this a potential presidential candidate fishing for a spotlight). Finally, even if it is a document of official record; can I trust it. Could it be forged? Could the creator of the document be such a partisan that he is willing to lie on it?
We are fighting against organized partisans willing to lie: government officials, media oulets, political organizations, teachers/professors, organized labor groups, scientists, even religious leaders. Do your homework, and don't jump on a bandwagon unless you know it to be true.
With the internet, there is the risk of purposeful lying on one side or another resulting in hundreds of blogs willfully or as dupes repeating the lies. This is not to say that conventional media does not engage in the same behavior because they do.
How can you tell who is lying? One post does not suffice for that answer, but the bottom line is that it takes due diligence and research. Don't just trust a person or source because they agree with your philosophy. Be wary of a person or source that does not back up their claims with credible sources. If they only quote "experts", "some", "associates of..." or other sources you can't access directly be very skeptical (even if they agree with you). Be wary if the bulk of sources are partisan figures (e.g. it must be true about Bush because Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy and Michael Moore say it is true). Examine potential motives beyond partisanship. (e.g. would McCain have any reason to want to 'stick it to Bush' or is this a potential presidential candidate fishing for a spotlight). Finally, even if it is a document of official record; can I trust it. Could it be forged? Could the creator of the document be such a partisan that he is willing to lie on it?
We are fighting against organized partisans willing to lie: government officials, media oulets, political organizations, teachers/professors, organized labor groups, scientists, even religious leaders. Do your homework, and don't jump on a bandwagon unless you know it to be true.
posted by All_I_Can_Stands @ 12:46 PM
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