What are your first thoughts when you see a post on social media that says something like “This post has been flagged for sharing false information.”
Most people would immediately discredit the post and the information it is sharing.
In theory, it would be great to have an organization that fact checks everything and makes sure only the truth comes out.
But that could never work in reality.
Why? Because when organizations like this exist, they are effectively silencing narratives. In this scenario it is up to these organizations to decide which narratives are true, not you.
And yes, the internet is a breeding grounds for information, both true and false. It is filled with it!
But internet censorship is no different than any censorship in the past. Media has always lied, Governments have always lied, and businesses have always lied.
Fake information is not a new trend, even though people are saying that it is. It’s been around since the dawn of time.
There are many organizations that exist now with the goal of fighting “disinformation”. The Global Disinformation Index is one of them.
The GDI determines “disinformation” through both human and AI assessment. And to be honest with you, I don’t know which one is worse. If it is a human that is censoring information, they are approaching the information with biases, and agendas. Based off how the AI is coded, this could be true for it too. But either way, there is a large window for errors.
Their goal is to rid the internet of “disinformation”. They say that the main reason “disinformation” is spread, is because of financial gain.
They plan to remove the financial incentive of anyone who spreads “disinformation”, and they are doing this by assigning “Risk Ratings” to brands. Brands with higher risk ratings are less desirable by advertisers. If you add in the threat of search engine manipulation, you can see how this can lead to censorship.
By attacking the financial gains of these voices, they are actively suppressing them.
Organizations like the GDI are trying to convince people that they should no longer think for themselves, and blindly follow the truth that they say is real.
I’m sure you can see how dangerous it can get if this organization becomes corrupt (assuming it isn’t already).
So, what can you do to fight this censorship?
- Speak out: We are blessed to be living in a time where we still have freedom of speech. When it is being challenged like this, we have to stand strong and fight back.
- Think for yourself: If something is marked as “disinformation” do not discredit the information you are seeing. Think with an open mind and be critical about why it could be marked that way.
- Do your part to build instead of destroy: Do your part to support the creators and voices you trust. And be careful of what you put out online. If you read something and don’t do your due diligence researching it, you can spread half-truth’s. This happens a lot, in what’s like the world’s biggest game of telephone. Someone says something kind of true, you tell someone else what you heard, then they tell someone else, until the whole story has changed.
By censoring voices, we are losing freedom of speech, thought, science, education and so much more.
The best way to protect truth is by giving everyone a platform to speak, and forming educated opinions based off of information you gathered yourself.
Because if you aren’t thinking for yourself, then someone else is.
I hope you enjoyed this email. Please share our blog with your friends and family.
Thank you!
Eric Meder