Author Guy P Harrison, writing for www.psychologytodaycom address the increasingly serious issue of "fake" news most of which comes via the internet. " Millions of websites have been weaponized with content designed to attack our cognitive vulnerabilities. Every day, YouTube videos pump nonsense into the minds of millions. Billions of emails fly around the world delivering irresistible links to madness," he notes.
The answer, he states, is not the in the demand for governments and corporations to clean up the mess that is online fake news. First of all, much of the fake news originates with government and corporations so they have a vested interest in keeping that flow open. Secondly, Harrison rightly observes that " freedom of speech is an invaluable concepto that should not be weakened."
It is his third point which I find inspiring and hopeful: "It is a defeatist victim mentality to expect someone else to protect your brain. Police your own thoughts. Don’t be such an easy mark. Good thinking is not as difficult as you may imagine."
Harrison challenges people to strengthen the power of mind by practicing critical thinking. "Be skeptical of everything. Never accept any claim, story, or news article as 100 percent true. Leave the door slightly ajar for intellectual escape. Take the stance of a good scientist and remember that all knowledge is provisional. Be humble—you don’t know everything about everything—and cling to a bit of uncertainty in all things so that you never tie yourself too tightly to a concept that might turn out to be a mistake or lie."
In spite of the prevalence of misinformation, he remains positive saying: "I find some reason for hope and optimism amid the current explosion of fake news we are experiencing. There is a chance that people finally will be forced, after being suckered one too many times, to recognize and admit the obvious: We must think before we believe. "
The answer, he states, is not the in the demand for governments and corporations to clean up the mess that is online fake news. First of all, much of the fake news originates with government and corporations so they have a vested interest in keeping that flow open. Secondly, Harrison rightly observes that " freedom of speech is an invaluable concepto that should not be weakened."
It is his third point which I find inspiring and hopeful: "It is a defeatist victim mentality to expect someone else to protect your brain. Police your own thoughts. Don’t be such an easy mark. Good thinking is not as difficult as you may imagine."
Harrison challenges people to strengthen the power of mind by practicing critical thinking. "Be skeptical of everything. Never accept any claim, story, or news article as 100 percent true. Leave the door slightly ajar for intellectual escape. Take the stance of a good scientist and remember that all knowledge is provisional. Be humble—you don’t know everything about everything—and cling to a bit of uncertainty in all things so that you never tie yourself too tightly to a concept that might turn out to be a mistake or lie."
In spite of the prevalence of misinformation, he remains positive saying: "I find some reason for hope and optimism amid the current explosion of fake news we are experiencing. There is a chance that people finally will be forced, after being suckered one too many times, to recognize and admit the obvious: We must think before we believe. "
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