I was recently on a webinar about Disinformation and what the media and governments are 'doing' about it. I found it both interesting and, in and of itself, misleading (in other words, it could have been classified as 'disinformation').
Parts of it were excellent, discussing the manner in which AI is now being deployed and increasing the ability to do "Deep Fakes" and other false narratives. Several examples showed how easy it is to make these. I believe there needs to be a way to identify and combat these, without question. And many companies are creating ways to deal with the threat these represent. I have no doubt it will be an 'arms race' of sorts, never ending. But the reality is there's nothing new here. Fakes have existed for years. Back when well-known entities weren't as recognizable or identifiable as they are now, many 'fakes' popped up to mislead, distract, and defraud the population. Lord Gordon Gordon and Princess Caraboo were capable of perpetuating large scale fraud. "End of the world" cults were incredibly common. Phlogiston was an accepted part of science, and even Boyle (whose laws I still use when scuba diving) believed in it. Phrenology was a 'science' well into the early 1900s, and eugenics was utilized widely well in the 1980s (primarily by the Nazis and the Soviet Union). So you know, follow the science.
Disinformation - the actual dissemination of a false narrative for nefarious or other specific purposes, are the critical component in psychological operations and warfare. Operation Mincemeat and the Patton's First Army group were critical components in reducing loss of life and helping to win WWII.
In real life, there are methods to spot and slow, as well as reverse, true disinformation. Anyone who believes a pedophile group was operating out of a pizza shop should probably have their head examined - and it was debunked early and often. That said, plenty of people still believe in Q, which is absolutely beyond my comprehension as to why. However, when you consider the alternative(s), which is the standard media and government line, it's not that much of a stretch to think there could be other, better, resources for information. There are. But I'm not so sure Q is a good option.
Regardless, the minute government gets involved in fighting disinformation, and people demand laws to "suppress" disinformation and misinformation, what is really being said is that REAL information will be suppressed or fought against. That is "anything I disagree with represents misinformation and disinformation and needs to be prohibited." And we're seeing a lot of that. I was at a recent lunch where a person asked "How can anyone question Fauci? What makes them think he's so bad?" I looked up and said "Perhaps he brought it on himself for spreading misleading and false information." They were stunned that I said this. Except I provided point after point of documented lies and misleading data he'd provided - including his emails and conversations trying to silence the professionals who signed the Great Barrington Declaration, or the lies to Congress about NIH funding of gain-of-function in Wuhan. Even with this, the others I shared lunch with thought I was the nutjob...
I am left wondering, today, what disinformation and misinformation really is and why people really, really want to stop it. It has existed for millennia and we're none the worse for it as a world population. Truth, as a result of truly free speech, has a funny way of debunking flat-earth conspiracies (even if many still choose to believe). Which is probably why people want to limit free speech. They really believe they have a monopoly on 'truth'. Or truthiness. Or "my truth" (whatever the hell that is). So it's better to limit what YOU can see or hear because that makes THEIR 'truth' more likely to win out. After all, Marxism and Socialism has "never really been tried before" and its past implementation was so good people like Bernie Sanders actually HONEYMOONED in Moscow! So you know that's a very good recommendation!
Yet here we are, with a government that has spent hundreds of millions to shoot down balloons and unidentified objects recently, all making the news and garnering a lot of attention. And still, today, the White House admitted most of these were probably private in nature. In other words, not a threat. But GREAT PR to make Biden look tough and "looking out for us." Meanwhile, I kept asking "what other news are they seeking to avoid people paying attention to?"
Perhaps it was the news that more evidence the US destroyed Nord Stream? Inflation gearing up again? I don't know. But I do know that when I attend webinars and "experts" say that we need the government to "do more" to "stop" disinformation because it is a "threat to democracy" I get very, very worried. The "government" is not a single entity that is consistently doing things in our best interest. Rather, I'd propose it's seeking to subjugate you and me. It does not care how. So "stopping disinformation" is as good a means as any, and getting the population to fear it and hate it and ask for laws to limit speech - well, that's right out of the Leninist/Maoist playbook.
It's not like the Woke/Cancel/CRT crowd aren't anything like the old people who perpetuated the Cultural Revolution, is it?
