Media
The role fulfilled by the media:
- Create and maintain a climate of fear - if it bleeds it leads
- Giving equal merit to opposing views for ‘balance’ – even if one has no basis in fact.
- Undermine confidence in institutions tasked with addressing given problems
- Building the conviction that when push comes to shove you will be let down.
- Convince you that ‘others less deserving’ will, do, have benefited where as you will not
This brings about a complete loss of trust in everything and anything: Individuals, Institutions, ‘experts’, corporations and government and is the foundation of the #PostTruth culture.
I don't know who started it:
- The tobaco industry producing reports that missrepresented the outcome of smoking.
- Many 'newspapers' publish online versions that are classified as ''General Interest Publications', not necessarily factual news sources. So if a complaint is made to the press standards organisation. This is their first line of defence.
- Fox news broadcasts in the UK but is not bound by any UK standards becauseit is considered an entertainment channel.
- TV, newspapers, magazines publicising research headlines without qualification
- TV, newspapers, magazines publicising 'benefits' while ignoring the worst effects of a food, drink or drug.
- TV, newspapers, magazines pubishing contradictory reports.
- TV, newspapers, magazines publishing unsupported 'facts' or 'alternative facts'
All of which allows people to act on faith or conviction rather than reality. Which makes a monkey out of them.