Fake News, the First Amendment, & Critical Thinking

The challenge with fake news is it is protected by the First Amendment. Even a lie is protected by the First Amendment, in most circumstances (and there are clearly times when lying is OK).

The problem with fake news is "the amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it." This is known as the bullshit asymmetry. And this is a rare case when it's easier to create something (the lie) than destroy it.

We commonly see spin and propaganda in business and politics; they're pretty much both the same thing, depending on the context. I like to think of spin as highlighting the lie in a truth or the truth in a lie. Or, to put it gently, spin is about highlighting the positive in a negative or, especially in politics, the negative in a positive.

The solution to fake news is critical thinking. I will not tell you what to think. But, I am willing to show you how to think. And I am willing to tell you what I think. The rest is up to you.

The most important part of critical thinking is to know the source, confirm the facts as best you can, and understand (prioritize) the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas. If it doesn't make sense, then double-check it and avoid confirmation bias because once we make up our minds about something we tend to stop learning about it. At the end of the day... It's not enough to be right. It's more important to be effective.

And, never forget: Snopes and Wikipedia are your weapons in the war on ignorance. Open your eyes, only justice should be blind.