The punishment does not fit the lie

There is so much fake news and miss information being spread that it has become near impossible to know who is telling the truth and who is not.

For the last four years, we have been told how Donald Trump was elected as the President of the United States of America based on Russian influence. Regardless of an ongoing investigation into the Russian influence, I for one am still none the wiser as to what, if any influence Russia had on the 2016 election.

It has become too easy to make a false statement without any consequences. You have Donald Trump, a pathological liar, arguably holding (held) the most powerful position in the world.

At what point did populism become the norm and/or acceptable? Social Media has a lot for which to answer. 

I deleted my Twitter account. I did open a new profile, and I am on Twitter most days, but I have refrained from sending a single tweet, retweeting or liking any posts under my new profile. I have concluded that it is pointless unless you have thousands of followers (or bots). Based on your number of followers, you can influence the view of thousands of people, regardless of whether you state a fact or share fake news/propaganda.

Dishonesty, fake news, false news, call it whatever you want has become part of everyday life simply because there are no consequences for lying. 

The US election is a prime example. You have Donald Trump giving a speech and declaring himself the winner of the election. You have Biden claiming that he won. Allegations of voting fraud. Legal challenges. Even though most people have their own opinion, mainly influenced by their political views, nobody knows the truth. 

Sad state of affairs, and it will likely only get worse unless people are held accountable for their actions.

The punishment must fit the crime.