Imagine fruits in season, and laid out before your very eyes are all your favorite durians, rambutans, lansoneses and mangosteens, at a cheap price. Then, after bringing home a huge bundle, you discover that not all are actually fresh and edible. That is the same with how it is in the big-ol’ World Wide Web.
There are some who say that what we now have in season is a new form of illiteracy resulting from the ingestion of fake news. Clearly, it is not as easy as spotting rotten fruit because others take whatever comes out of their screens as gospel truth (although even that in itself, could also be propaganda).
The thing about misinformation is, it has been around for a long time and had actually preceded the internet. It has only been made more potent with the coming of the new technology. In short, do not believe everything you read.
Consider rumor-mongers. From being a backyard industry, it has gone supersonic. As a result, its equally-evil sister, bullying has more than tripled in the wake of wifi. Now anyone can loathe you from afar, from the safety of their own little homescreens.
So what is the point in all this? While practically anything under the sun can now easily be accessed in a sec, the empowerment that comes with it has also made it easier for others to push their bad intent. Preying or playing on people’s prejudices, these men (and women) in the shadows have continually dished out fakery meant to influence thinking. Any lie, when told a hundred times, will appear to have a semblance of truth in the end.
Tis the season to be jolly, just be mindful of them folly.
