Disinformation aka false news appears historically in
1939. Note the date. As a branch of intelligence, false news was deliberately spun
to confuse, disconcert and disorientate the enemy. When practiced as an arm of
government policy, in every aspect of statecraft or politics, across the civic
realm, it’s fair to ask: who is the enemy? Answer: the entire population.
If no
news is good news, and false news is no news, who has ears to hear any kind of
news at all? It comes down to Pilate’s question: what is truth?
News
is not rumour, conspiracy theory, or urban myth. Not propaganda, relations
public, or celebrity puff. Generally
there’s an event involved. News isn’t opinion, reflection, ideological comment
or indeed suppression.
Can
we cast away the works of darkness, like the baptismal child rejecting Satan
through its sponsor’s voice? How much do we have to know? How much can we know?
How much do we dare to know, and through whom?
A little knowledge, in St. Paul’s
view, is not only dangerous, but beside the point. ‘Repent, and believe the
good news’ not the false news, says Mark’s Gospel. Verify the event. Without
love, we are nothing.
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