Distrust: #FakeNews and Propaganda
I was in Tucson, Arizona in September of 2011. My roommate woke me up on the 11th in a state of agitation and excitement. "There's been a terrorist attack in New York!" he said. My reaction was largely one of indifference. At the time, we'd gotten used to reports of murders and killings in Karachi, so people getting killed randomly in major metropolitan areas wasn't anything unusual. I couldn't understand what the fuss was all about.
I remember watching the forecast on CNN, and I remember thinking that it looked fake, like something out of a video game. And later on, when they lingered on shots of the destruction of the towers, while playing mournful music, I couldn't help but think of what a slick production it was, and how much better it was compared to the propaganda on Pakistan's state channel, PTV.
Now, I'm not pushing any conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks (notwithstanding that I used to have a video of a rap song going on about Bush knocking down the towers). A bunch of Arabs hijacked the planes, Al Qaeda took responsibility for it, and essentially made the world a worse place to live for everyone. Those are the facts, and that's not what this post is about. It's about the media, and how it's contributed to the current landscape of #FakeNews and Alternate Facts.
I've grown up and lived most of my life in Pakistan. There was only the one channel while we were growing up, PTV, which would show a mix of programs, and the news at various times during the day. At 6 p.m. they'd read the headlines in English, and at 9 p.m. they'd have the news go on for a half-hour, ending the broadcast with the weather report at 9:30 p.m. I think everyone watched it, because you'd see people rushing home at 8:30 p.m., and then the roads would be empty by 9 p.m.
I'd only listen to the news half-heartedly, but even I picked up on the usual "beats" of the news broadcast:
- Kashmir
- Violence in Karachi
- Actual news
- Blaming the opposition / previous government for problems
The last would become especially egregious after elections, when the parties would inevitably switch, after the previous government was ousted for some overblown reason. Thus, I grew up with a healthy distrust of the news, learning to question what I was told, and not take anything at face value. This doesn't mean that I would dismiss all news as fake, but would take what I heard with a pinch of salt, and if I was interested, I'd try and find out what I could from multiple sources.
As an educated person, I have that luxury. I know how to conduct research, I know how to question, and I understand the difference between "doubt" and "question".
And this brings me back to watching the 9/11 broadcast of CNN, and thinking about how slick it all was. It's not that I doubted that there had been a terrorist attack in New York, but it was manipulative. Clearly, CNN had higher production values, but the intent of manipulation was there, to elicit an emotional response. PTV was far more blunt with its propaganda, intended as it was for the ill-educated Pakistani, who needs to have points hammered into their head with heavy objects.
I'm reminded of something I read in a Reader's Digest that I'd thought was a joke (and I don't remember the words exactly so I'm rephrasing): When the media supports them, they're called "freedom fighters". When they oppose them, they're called "terrorists". And if they don't care either way, they're called "guerrillas". And it doesn't stop there.
In 1988, the Taliban were heroic freedom fighters in the movie, Rambo III. By 1999, they were a footnote, occasionally trotted out to make a point about human rights and so on, as in an episode of 7th Heaven (but not neutral, as they'd already taken a run at bombing the World Trade Center in 1993, about which there was a movie in 1997, Path to Paradise). In 2003, they are a brutal regime in Beyond Borders. By the time we get to Iron Man, released in 2008, the Taliban are generic evil villains (cleverly renamed the Ten Rings to tie it back to Iron Man's comic book enemies).
Considering how manipulative the media has been for years, it's hardly surprising that people would start to distrust everything they say, to the point that it's now a rallying cry for anyone wishing to prey on the dull and gormless. There is a fine line between manipulation and dishonesty (to the point that they are both considered synonyms, along with the word "media-savvy"), and it's not hard to see why so many would be willing to believe that the media has crossed that line. Read up on how the US media covered the shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988, and tell me that the media is objective and unbiased.
But here's where you need to draw your own line; don't doubt, but question. If you doubt, you're dismissing the information out of hand, and thus are closing your mind to everything you hear. Listen, but think, research, and then make up your own mind. If you don't have all of the facts, reserve judgement. And stop referring to everything as #FakeNews just because you don't agree with it.