The Dangers of “Fake News”
If it isn’t there yet, don’t be surprised if the term “Fake News” ends up being Oxford’s Dictionary’s Word(s) of the Year for 2017. Whether it’s “alternative facts” or the “lying media”, the dangers of perpetuating these ideas go beyond the simple “he-said, she-said” debate. Beyond discrediting stories that don’t fit one’s agenda, when this type of behavior is not only condoned, but encouraged by those in positions of leadership, it sends a message to all, supporters and detractors alike, that the leader of the free world is free to doubt any source of information deemed “inconvenient.” I fear children are reading between the lines:
“That person doesn’t like me so (s)he must be a liar.”
“If I feel strongly enough that I’m right, I must be right.”
Doubting ideas and standards are part of the scientific process but only when these ideas are tried and tested and the results are able to speak for itself. Instead children are being led to believe that emotional attachment to your strongly-held beliefs, as opposed to data/evidence/facts/discussion, can trump this process as long as you steadfastly believe that you are right.
Social media has to address the proliferation of “Fake News” but even that won’t be able to stop the seeds that have already been planted. Even more dangerous than the spread of this propaganda is the acceptance by a head-of-state that we no longer need to listen to one another or discuss our differing views, that open-mindedness is weakness, and that positions of power and an unwavering confidence of your own (often unsubstantiated) opinions are all that matter.
The future of education is at stake here. Why invest time in reading textbooks when “alternative facts” are easier to understand? Why spend years learning history if the author was probably, no definitely, making up these events that your Pappy recalled differently? Why learn math if someone probably just made these numbers up?
When it comes to education, we cannot teach our children to choose convenience over effort or emotions over facts. Or just wait 3 years to have kids, it might be easier.