A flood of misinformation shapes views of Israel-Gaza conflict
washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
As information consumers, we have little choice other than trepidatiously pick our way through the narratives supplied to us as best we can. If we end up settling on a heightened level of skepticism to all 'produced information', irrespective of source, then we might be satisfied as to our progress.
1. ALL information is biased: there's no way to remove that part entirely because human beings make everything news-related.
2. The motivations of the journalists determine what the news reveals or hides[0].
3. To that end, all mainstream journalism (excepting journalists directly funded by listeners) is about as accurate as an advertisement.
4. Consume with a general distrust, assume everyone else is doing the same (since most people are NOT indoctrinated into the mediafest), and go about the rest of your life.
5. If you ever start getting a bad case of anxiety or the shakes, go outside for a walk or strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
I wrote an essay on the subject[1], but the gist of it is to learn the art of skepticism, on EVERYTHING.
[0] https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/futureofmedia/index-us-mains...
Today my reaction is different. I got this pay/signup wall and get the distint sense that google is a marketing engine rather than information search. I suppose paid information is still information. Not sure where I'm going with this line of thinking, just saying I may have crossed a tipping point and wondered if anyone else has noticed similar change in stance. I mean if everyone used this model the web becomes a search/catalog for info sale.
> An administration official later clarified Biden’s remarks, saying that Biden was referring to public statements from officials and media reports and had not actually seen the photos.
That's funny retarded statement.
This is the classic misinformation and lie from a US president. Does anyone remember if Bush administration (anyone related to white house) ever admitted that the WMD in Iraq was a lie?
> One such story is an allegation that Hamas beheaded babies in Kfar Azza, a kibbutz near Israel’s southern border with Gaza. The unconfirmed story appears to stem from a single Israeli news report on Tuesday.
> On Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister’s office appeared to validate the report, with a spokesperson saying the babies were found with their “heads decapitated.” The claim went viral, spreading across newspapers, social media platforms and a CNN broadcast.
> President Biden appeared to advance the story in a meeting with Jewish community leaders. “I have been doing this a long time, I never really thought that I would see … have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children,” he said.
> An administration official later clarified Biden’s remarks, saying that Biden was referring to public statements from officials and media reports and had not actually seen the photos.
> Less than a day later, the Israeli government backtracked. “There have been cases of Hamas militants carrying out beheadings and other ISIS-style atrocities,” according to a Thursday statement provided to CNN. “However, we cannot confirm if the victims were men or women, soldiers or civilians, adults or children.”