undefined | Better HN

0 pointsuser39393824y ago0 comments

We should stop using the term misinformation and call it untruth. This deobfuscates what’s really happening, which is that:

Extreme wealth and power has caused some self-appointed Deciders of Truth to band together and decide that anyone who does not pledge allegiance to anything they decide is true will be cast out of society as much as practically possible.

I remember reading Plato’s The Republic when I was young and coming away with the impression that arriving at the nature of truth was very complicated and nuanced. Apparently these tech CEOs and their buddies in government have decided to simplify everything for us proles.

0 comments

ViViDboarder4y ago

Do you really believe there is no such thing as a lie?

I don’t want to trust Facebook as an arbiter of anything because their motivations do not align with anything other than personal profit, but people do completely fabricate things and present them as true.

SpicyLemonZest4y ago

There's such a thing as a lie, but "misinformation" isn't a synonym for "lie". Efforts to fight misinformation are almost always understood to encompass misleading information - that is, information that's literally true but is used to advance an argument the misinformation checker doesn't think is valid.

Dracophoenix4y ago

The problem still remains as to who gets to determine what constitutes "misleading".

user3939382OP4y ago

At least with COVID, one day the same idea can be “misinformation” and the next it’s a blessed fact from the Deciders of Truth. Originally it was misinformation that masks protected you from COVID. So no it’s not as simple as a “lie”.

newswasboring4y ago

> We should stop using the term misinformation and call it untruth

Or just call it what it is. Lies.

sofixa4y ago

I think the difference between untruth and misinformation is the intent. The latter is on purpose in order to shape a narrative and mislead people. Misinformation is Trump and related people claiming the election was stolen from him - it's blatantly untrue, easily debunkable, and there's an obvious interest there. (I'm not american, just an easy example that came to me)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse