Comment by baggy_trough

6 days ago

That is a view which is entirely opposed to my own. I have no faith that there is some authoritative entity that could objectively determine what is a lie and what is the truth.

22 comments

baggy_trough

Reply
mrandish  5 days ago

Well said. It surprises me so many people don't see the danger inherent in anointing 'fact checkers' who are supposed to adjudicate some objective "truth" around complex culture war issues along with the power to suppress other viewpoints.

Free speech isn't free. We pay for it by tolerating speech that's unpleasant, uncomfortable, wrong, insulting, offensive or hateful.

perlgeek  6 days ago

If you don't act against disinformation, you get a world that is spammed with so many statements that it's impossible for the average consumer to assess the truth of any of them.

Is that what you want?

If yes, why? If not, what's your approach?

  • dec0dedab0de  6 days ago

    Let people be wrong

    • kstrauser  6 days ago

      That's great until it convinces them to make real-world decisions that affect the rest of us. For instance, vaccine misinformation talked a lot of people against getting safe (or at least safer than the illness), effective (not perfect, but effective) immunity shots for COVID. Those people are dead from being wrong.

      I think someone's an idiot for denying the moon landings, but their ignorance doesn't directly affect my ability to stay alive and health. Some misinformation is worse than others.

      2 replies →

  • baggy_trough  6 days ago

    I already stated my approach. Let speech be met by more speech in return. Consumers can assess the credibility of each.

    • jandrese  6 days ago

      But your approach results in someone who can't even conceive of the truth being identifiable. It doesn't seem like a great way to run a society.

      6 replies →

    • acuozzo  6 days ago

      > Consumers can assess the credibility of each.

      Assuming intelligence is normally distributed, then what's the plan for the bottom 50% here?

      5 replies →

    • triceratops  6 days ago

      > Consumers can assess the credibility of each.

      I ain't doing all that work. I'm picking whatever I already believe in.

      /s but only kind of. That's how most people think. They aren't enlightened like you.