One of the biggest crises that we must confront today is fake news and the belief that perception is reality.
Social media has made it easy for one and all to publicly express what one thinks without even bothering to check facts. Whatever appears on Facebook or Twitter is considered gospel truth. No wonder that we have lost the sense of what is true.
Truth and lies, facts and fiction are being mingled and manipulated in such a way that it is becoming difficult to decipher between what is fake and what is factual.
The fact that prominent TV channels like the BBC feel the need to advertise factual news by stating “We’re Reality Check from BBC News, here to cut through the spin and concentrate on facts” is clear proof that we are living in a post-truth era.
Perception seems to matter more than truth. Mark Steinmetz, national account manager for IMS Technology Services, states: “While it is true that everyone perceives reality differently, reality could care less about our perceptions. Reality does not change to adapt to our viewpoints; reality is what it is. Reality is fact. Reality is truth.”
Individualism, relativism and secularism have led us to believe that objective truth does not exist. The way many are reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic is clear proof that we are living in a world where what matters is one’s opinion and perception of reality. The fact that US President Donald Trump ignores the advice of experts on how to address the pandemic shows how even prominent political leaders base their policies on what they perceive to be true rather than on what is actually true.
Jeffrey Mervis, senior correspondent at Science Magazine, states: “His [Trump’s] repeated public dismissals of scientific expertise and his disdain for evidence have prompted many researchers to label him the most anti-scientific president in living memory.”
Perception seems to matter more than truth
Even Prime Minister Robert Abela, in order to boost the economy, tried to downplay the repercussions of the pandemic His words uttered in May, “waves are found in the sea, there’s no need to strike up public fear of a second wave”, still reverberate today.
Even lately, when addressing a political activity, Abela proclaimed: “In March, I want to see that our economy would be recovering well and, by May, I want to see us in a position of business as usual and speaking about COVID-19 as something of the past.”
Charmaine Gauci, the superintendent of public health, has a different approach. When asked for her opinion on a planned protest against COVID-19 restrictions, she retorted: “This shows that there are people who might not understand the seriousness of the pandemic. This is a reality and it would be good for any of these protesters to speak to health professionals, people who were hospitalised and their relatives to see the pain that they went throughout the pandemic.” Abela’s comments are based on perception whereas Gauci’s are based on reality.
Fiction, lies and fake news are the biggest crises we all must combat. We cannot allow authorities, institutions and social media to manipulate facts and create fictitious stories in order to convince us that their perception is reality.
To reach a state where the president of the United States categorically denies that he lost the election, even though there is no trace of fraud, is another convincing proof that we are living at a time where ‘man is the measure of all things’.
Journalists have the sacred responsibility of sticking to facts, verifying facts and exposing fake news. The Guardian, when commenting on the US election results, said “the election has shown how important independent, fact-based journalism is to a functioning democracy”.
A BBC news headline report lately stated: “Trump presidency’s final days: In his mind he will not have lost.” I would add “but in reality, he has lost”.
That we are living in a post-truth world is a fact. It is now up to each one of us to point out lies and fiction and to accept reality as is and not as it is perceived or as wanting it to be perceived.
Ray Azzopardi is a retired headmaster.