December 12, 2022
Truth manipulation explained in 25 minutes.
==== What Is This Video About? =======
We begin by covering fake news, and considering how the media can manipulate information. This includes half-truths and biased reporting. We address how the media is still a business, which is why we have seen the rise of clickbait articles trying to capture your attention.
However, we also consider how our own biases impacts how we interpret not just news, but all information. We consider how we all have psychological biases such as confirmation bias, that distort the news and information we hear.
Towards the end, we even start to question reality itself - and explore ideas like solipsism and The Mandela effect. Whilst some of these ideas are extreme, questioning information we hear (from all sides), can often be healthy. This video does not really mean you should never believe in anything, it simply means it's healthy to seek out the other side of the argument, before rushing to conclusions. And of course, it's also healthy to be aware of our own biases that our minds have. I hope you enjoy.
~~~ Important Extra Points ~~~ 1. The video is best watched as a whole, as it is supposed to be a “journey” that starts off by exploring surface level topics like fake news, but then begins to descend deeper and deeper into the lies, until we’re left questioning everything.
2. This video is clearly more cynical than some of my other content. That’s partially because I think this ‘dark documentary’ vibe is interesting/unique and something I want to explore more of, but it’s also because I truly believe there is a major problem in our society right now, where lies spread so quickly and easily. Whilst these concepts may be nothing new to you, I hope it at least makes us all stop to question things slightly more. That said, obviously I do not actually think we should doubt literally everything, and no I don’t think all of the media is evil or that we are just brains in vats. My point was that the things we believe to be certain are not necessarily certain. This doesn’t mean we should stop believing in everything, it’s simply a reminder to be aware of the biases we all have, so we can try to make better choices.
3. I briefly use a Pewdiepie clip and imply portions of the media twisted things to demonize him. I know a small minority may think I am ‘defending anti-Semitism’ so I just want to clarify I am NOT at all. My point (which hopefully the vast majority would agree with) is that Pewdiepie is not a Nazi-sympathiser, and yet sections of the media portrayed him that way, so I felt it was a good example of how the media can present such a one-sided narrative.
4. Near the beginning I say the term ‘fake news’ originated in 2016. I'm not saying fake news didn’t exist prior to that, what I mean is it became a mainstream expression around that time (largely thanks to the Malaysian fake news sites mentioned). I also want to stress this video is not partisan at all. Yes, the term ‘fake news’ has become more politicized recently, but it is not a right or left issue, it’s an ‘everyone’ issue.
All materials in these videos are used for educational purposes and fall within the rules of fair use.
Video Resources I Use: https://magnatesmedia.com/equipment Video Credits: John Frazer & Hahoany Assad
======= Chapters ======= 00:00 Prologue 00:47 Part 1: Fake News 03:29 Part 2: Puppet Masters 05:44 Part 3: Bias 07:36 Part 4: The Mind 10:11 Part 5: Social Media 13:52 Part 6: Unravelling The Truth 19:13 Part 7: Unreal Reality
SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HErV0qAzbZE