A NEWS item
caught my attention recently. It said that the
phenomenon of fake news nowadays is a crisis gripping
countries with
the democratic form of government. Frankly, I was amused
more than
anything else when I read that item.
What
immediately came to my mind was the fake news—which
is a euphemism for lies, spins, empty and tendentious
rhetoric—have
always been around since we can always misuse and abuse
our freedom
whether we are in a democracy, monarchy, autocracy, etc.
What aggravates
the whole issue is that with easy access
now to very powerful means of communication, the
probability of fake
news being spread around is indeed very high. We have
many
propagandists and spin masters who can only be partisan
and therefore
partial in their views. We now even have the so-called
trolls.
Unless we know
the real nature of freedom, its source,
goal and means, and how it is related to the truth and
ultimately and
constantly to God, we would always be hounded by fake
news and its
many other forms and expressions that often are most
tricky and
deceptive.
When one is not
inspired by the spirit of God, there is no
way but to succumb to the ways of fake news, whether he
is the maker
or the receiver of such news. No amount of research and
diligent work
can replace the spirit of God who is the only one who can
give us the
whole truth, and truth that always goes together with
charity. Without
God, one tends to be reckless in his opinions and is
often blinded by
their own lights.
The other day,
in an American talk show over the Youtube,
the interviewer was fact-checked and was found to be
mistaken in her
assumptions. Just the same, the interviewer said that she
counted on a
vast network of researchers whose findings could support
her claims.
But she was actually wrong.
Everyone has to
have recourse to God if he is interested
in objectivity and fairness in his views. Ignoring God
can only leave
one to his subjective biases and prejudices. Not even a
good intention
supported by an extensive research and a big amount of
data can change
that.
With God, one
will always be inspired to study issues very
well before making some claims. He will examine his own
attitudes and
motives and put them in the right track.
He will also
practice some restraint in his opinions,
since in spite of all the studies and the amount of data
and
information, he knows that he still would not know
everything. He
would always realize that he does not have the last work
on any issue.
He should be open to the possibility of being corrected
or given more
data, etc.
But, alas, how
many of our news agencies and journalists
have God as their main anchor in their work? In fact,
many of them
would consider any reference to God as undermining their
sense of
objectivity and fairness.
Let’s remember
what St. Augustine said about truthfulness.
Some people “love truth when she shines on them, and hate
her when she
rebukes them.” He said that with these people truth will
hide from
them and will expose them in due time.
This is a real
problem that is in need of urgent solution.
How do we evangelize those in the media, so filled with
their sense of
self-importance and conceit, such that they realize
deeply that they
need God always in their work?
As to the
readers and recipients of news, when they are
with God, they would know that they just cannot believe
what they read
or hear in the media indiscriminatingly. They know they
have to
practice extreme prudence and discernment, especially now
when fake
news proliferate.
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