An Introduction To The Fake News Framework
By
Fake
News has one job, to win the race to belief. This is important because
people act on belief and once set, belief can be notoriously difficult
to dislodge. Belief, by its nature, strongly resists contradictory
ideas. It often takes a ton of facts to remove an ounce of belief so
maybe it is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been
fooled.
Now, if news exists to inform society then Fake News, being the opposite, exists to un-inform society. That need to convince us of things that aren’t true forces Fake News to deal in deceit. Knowing that, we can safely say that Fake News benefits corruption over honesty.
Politically, Fake News is a potent weapon because of how it is guaranteed to work at the policy level. Fake News and information are deluded because they don’t reflect reality. Fake Beliefs, then, are definitely delusional. However, because delusional policy must produce negative consequences, it will naturally work to extend and exacerbate the “problem” it was designed to address. What is the political fix? More Fake News policy, whose deepened delusion worsens the problem. This perpetual cycle of failure continues until Liberty quietly succumbs or, optimistically, wakes up to fight the evil of Fake News.
Now, if news exists to inform society then Fake News, being the opposite, exists to un-inform society. That need to convince us of things that aren’t true forces Fake News to deal in deceit. Knowing that, we can safely say that Fake News benefits corruption over honesty.
Politically, Fake News is a potent weapon because of how it is guaranteed to work at the policy level. Fake News and information are deluded because they don’t reflect reality. Fake Beliefs, then, are definitely delusional. However, because delusional policy must produce negative consequences, it will naturally work to extend and exacerbate the “problem” it was designed to address. What is the political fix? More Fake News policy, whose deepened delusion worsens the problem. This perpetual cycle of failure continues until Liberty quietly succumbs or, optimistically, wakes up to fight the evil of Fake News.
A Key Fake News Analytical Fact
Fake News doesn’t need to win the factual argument to win the race to belief.Have you ever followed a story where one side’s argument abruptly changes? You can yell hypocrite all you want but notice that the argument continues to roll on with the “loss” being ignored rather than conceded. They’re still in the race.
Consider that, because Fake News knows their deceit cannot survive knowledgeable opposition, they aren’t even trying to win the argument. They want to continue the argument, unopposed of course, and do so until it no longer works. Then they change positions again. Although the factual argument constantly changes, the emotional message that sets and sustains the Fake Belief remains the same.
Think tactical, not hypocritical, and welcome to the Fake News Framework.
Fake News Framework: The Claim, the Frame, and the Aim
The Fake News Framework is, by necessity, an extremely simple structure because a complex setup would be too difficult and time consuming to manage, particularly given the speed at which information travels. Fake News must travel easily and quickly, otherwise the truth has a chance to shape perceptions into solid beliefs first, making our mind an inhospitable environment for deceit.
The
Fake News Framework is so simple it requires only three pillars for
success, and one of those is required by real news. The Claim represents
the false factual aspect of Fake News, the Frame emotionally guides
perceptions towards the desired narrative (belief), and the Aim is the
ability of that information to reach a mind. Repetition is persuasion,
after all, and works for real and Fake News.
(A word of caution, today’s tech giants now control which messages are seen and can spread them globally on demand. They own the “Aim”, and thereby wield near omnipotent power over beliefs and culture on a scale never seen before. Just saying.)
The “Claim”, necessarily false, is always treated as absolute, immovable e, truth. That assumption is baked into every piece of Fake News and dissenters will be pressured to challenge that “truth”. If they do, the “out of the mainstream” deniers are viscously targeted with more Fake News. If they don’t, they’re owned by the narrative and Fake News’ losing logical argument becomes a winning political argument.
Dissenting “leaders” are then compelled to accept the Fake Belief, leaving their supporters without a voice for reason. How many Canadian “Conservatives” accept the delusional claim that the Earth’s climate can be controlled by micro-managing our less than 2% global CO2 output while more populous countries grow? Sad, isn’t it?
The “Frame” contains emotional stimuli designed to scare society away from “bad” places and people and toward “good” places and people. Emotional messages are used to prod us down a predetermined path that magically ends at Fake Belief. For example, a “good” Canadian will wear a mask, scrupulously distance, and cheer for self-enslavement while a “bad” Canadian won’t and is selfishly putting their neighbors in danger!
The factual reality of wussy COVID-19 is irrelevant, and always was. The emotional nudges are everything. Sadly, we are that simple. Good/bad, safety/fear, from/to. Corralled.
Additionally, if Fake News prefers to extend, not win, win the factual argument, then it stands to reason they would benefit greatly from confusing the factual argument, thereby preventing society from ever correctly understanding the issue. Factual confusion precludes accurate conclusion, which leaves society mired in intellectual chaos and vulnerable to emotional perceptions.
(A word of caution, today’s tech giants now control which messages are seen and can spread them globally on demand. They own the “Aim”, and thereby wield near omnipotent power over beliefs and culture on a scale never seen before. Just saying.)
The “Claim”, necessarily false, is always treated as absolute, immovable e, truth. That assumption is baked into every piece of Fake News and dissenters will be pressured to challenge that “truth”. If they do, the “out of the mainstream” deniers are viscously targeted with more Fake News. If they don’t, they’re owned by the narrative and Fake News’ losing logical argument becomes a winning political argument.
Dissenting “leaders” are then compelled to accept the Fake Belief, leaving their supporters without a voice for reason. How many Canadian “Conservatives” accept the delusional claim that the Earth’s climate can be controlled by micro-managing our less than 2% global CO2 output while more populous countries grow? Sad, isn’t it?
The “Frame” contains emotional stimuli designed to scare society away from “bad” places and people and toward “good” places and people. Emotional messages are used to prod us down a predetermined path that magically ends at Fake Belief. For example, a “good” Canadian will wear a mask, scrupulously distance, and cheer for self-enslavement while a “bad” Canadian won’t and is selfishly putting their neighbors in danger!
The factual reality of wussy COVID-19 is irrelevant, and always was. The emotional nudges are everything. Sadly, we are that simple. Good/bad, safety/fear, from/to. Corralled.
Additionally, if Fake News prefers to extend, not win, win the factual argument, then it stands to reason they would benefit greatly from confusing the factual argument, thereby preventing society from ever correctly understanding the issue. Factual confusion precludes accurate conclusion, which leaves society mired in intellectual chaos and vulnerable to emotional perceptions.
Fake
News wins the race when it can keep people logically confused with
conflicting Claims and emotionally enthused with sharp, focused Frames.
This state short-circuits our perceptual process and allows the
formation of knowledge free, emotional (fake) beliefs.
In fact, reality is their enemy, so words that convey reality are an existential threat to their worldview, not just a differing opinion. Reality’s destructive potential is why they view words as violence, and why they feel justified in silencing those who disagree. Their fear of reality becomes hatred of reality, and by extension, of those who live there.
Orwell’s two minutes of hate is long gone. Fake News pushes it 24/7, setting the mood and prepping the emotional beliefs for tailored action. That hatred can now be directed and triggered with a single image or story and, just like that, Fake News can instantly unleash rage-filled, violent mobs against their enemies.
We might want to find, and fight, Fake News better than we can today and we’ll prep for that battle with the next article, Fake News versus the Bias And Deceit Analysis Methodology,
Fake News Consequence
One direct consequence of Fake News is the creation of large groups of people who believe falsities. These groups are impossible to communicate with because their fake belief systems have no common ground with reality.In fact, reality is their enemy, so words that convey reality are an existential threat to their worldview, not just a differing opinion. Reality’s destructive potential is why they view words as violence, and why they feel justified in silencing those who disagree. Their fear of reality becomes hatred of reality, and by extension, of those who live there.
Orwell’s two minutes of hate is long gone. Fake News pushes it 24/7, setting the mood and prepping the emotional beliefs for tailored action. That hatred can now be directed and triggered with a single image or story and, just like that, Fake News can instantly unleash rage-filled, violent mobs against their enemies.
We might want to find, and fight, Fake News better than we can today and we’ll prep for that battle with the next article, Fake News versus the Bias And Deceit Analysis Methodology,
No comments:
Post a Comment