I'm sure there is plenty of intentional deception, but don't underestimate laziness and carelessness either. In my prior career I had a few cases that got attention in the mainstream press. I would read the articles and be amazed at how many errors I would see in a simple story. Before that, I kind of assumed that the "reputable" press at least had basic facts straight.
this territory is moderated
The physicist Muarry Gell-Mann noticed this and remarked:
I open the newspaper and notice an article on physics, a subject I know well. The text of the article is unbelievable, often times its clear that the journalist no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Possibly even missing the entire point of the "experiment" he is reporting on. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward -- reversing cause and effect. A "wet streets cause rain" situation. Feeling exasperated and frustrated I will angrily flip to a new page and read a seemingly well-researched and enlightening article on the Palestinian / Israel conflict.
His point was, when you know a subject deeply the reporting of it is crazily bad....when you don't know alot about the subject its seems reasonable and enlightening. This was later termed as the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect
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Yes! I had no idea there was a term for it. In my case the article would have the charges wrong, the evidence wrong, and often even the wrong court.
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I always forget the name of this effect (Dunning-Krugger always pops into my head, even though I know it's wrong). Thanks for saving me the trouble of looking it up.
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Indeed.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
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Thanks for pointing this out. It is easy to discover the incentives in media/state and think everything is planned and flows down from some global elite WEF leader. While there is certainly evidence for this in many cases I agree with you. Most of the time the issue is laziness, stupidity, and personal interest. I really think we can waste a lot of energy trying to figure out all the connections who are trying to control the masses... Then if you step back you realize that you may just be playing yourself. How do you live in a way that makes them less powerful? How can you live the life you want to live? Forget these evil men and live your life on your terms. Try to remind myself of this regularly.
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