The truth we choose

Four months into the pandemic with 300,000 deaths reported worldwide (100,000 of those deaths our fellow Americans), there remain people who still believe that the coronavirus is an overblown hoax. While skepticism about the seriousness of the virus in the earliest days was understandable, to believe this theory now, you must conclude that worldwide, physicians and scientists are reporting false information. You must believe that globally, leaders are abetting a false narrative. You must believe the majority of journalists reporting the stories are lying. You must buy into the idea that rest of the world is “in on it.” Despite these leaps and the enormous amount of readily available evidence to the contrary, this theory continues to find life. Why?

At the heart of the problem are targeted campaigns led by special interest groups flooding our networks and social media platforms with disinformation in the form of new reports, articles, statistics, medical specialists, and economists. Journalism, once considered a reliable source of objective information gathering, has become tarnished by the rapid 24-hour news cycle pressuring reporters to take short cuts. Fact checking has fallen victim to getting the headline out first. Headlines have become sensationalized to fuel viral responses. Financial and political drivers have shaped stories. Bias has bled into broadcasting.

Social media magnified the issue. It was the ideal platform for those with an agenda to weaponize “fake news” and legitimize it.  It continues to thrive as the knowledge management tool of choice for special interest groups to reignite debunked theories and bring them back to life. With advancements in artificial intelligence and the development of Social Media BOTS, a viral campaign has become as easy as updating a software algorithm. With an overabundance of false, misleading, and bad journalism on ready display, good journalism has become hostage to bad journalism. Truth has fallen victim to conspiracy theories. All journalism has become suspect. Never has it been easier to dismiss data, overlook objective reporting, and lean toward a “truth” that aligns with what we want to hear versus what we need to hear.

At a time when our choices greatly impact the lives and livelihood of others, we have a responsibility to ourselves and others to change our behavior. We must stop rewarding disinformation campaigns with viral responses. We must stop choosing truth through our political lenses; we must start finding truth through a lens of objectivity. We need to pause and investigate before we share. We need to read more, research more, and dig deeper. We must vet sources and information for authenticity. We need to validate credentials, relevant experience, and proven experience. We need to balance the news we take in each day, by following multiple sources with diverse viewpoints, not just those whose views we prefer.

If we are to save lives and save the economy, we cannot afford to keep choosing our truths based on snippets and soundbites or Facebook folly. We must hold ourselves responsible to search, investigate, and find the honest and objective truth, even if that truth leads us someplace, we never expected nor wanted.