[rustynails]

The thrust of the article used this merely as an illustration of distrust, manipulation and outright lies from all sources of news/information that we have.

I'm deeply interested in "fake News" and I suspect, like many do, that Facebook is merely an enabler rather than the source (ie. Facebook tells us what we want to hear, thus amplifying confirmation bias). I recently exposed the New York Times for being a cultivator of divisiveness and manipulation (but they are not alone). The NYT are far more likely to be a source of the problem than Facebook.

The article, for me at least, was a recognition of system-wide manipulation, misinformation and intent. It was also a recognition that things are dire. It was also a recognition for unity.

The challenge we face is that we are divided. Not just on national boundaries, but on our essences of self-identity which have become extremely fragmented and extremely hostile. I believe people need to pull together more than ever, yet, we are tearing apart. We are being manipulated on so many fronts that we can't see the wood for the trees. The discussion on Syria was merely one example of this confusion.

The article calls for recognition of the importance of truth. Excellent. However, the root cause of problems is squabbles over power leading to division. You're never going to stop squabbles for power. Truth can always be re-packaged until it suits. No matter how we try to bring people together, there will be more to gain through differentiation and divisiveness.

This rabbit hole runs deep. I am grateful to this article for challenging my views on fake News and social fragmentation.