Facebook and Google are working hard – now – to undermine the power and influence of fake news sites which rely on the two internet giants for their success. Why now? The likely answer is that the candidate overwhelmingly supported by Silicon Valley and the big money which fuels it, lost the presidential election and many think that happened, at least in part, because of voters influenced to support Donald Trump by the stories spread by those sites.
It’s not like Google and Facebook didn’t know fake news sites existed beforehand, and they certainly made plenty of money from them. They just didn’t care all that much until it brought about a result they didn’t like. There is a lesson in there for all of us, even if we aren’t internet giants, regarding the circumstances under which we take action, and when we choose to sit by and do nothing.
After telling us all for years that they would exercise little to no editorial control over the content spread by them, FB and G are now swinging into serious action. But as much as I detest fake news, whether it influenced this election or not, there is something at least a little “off” here, not to mention that it may miss the most effective way to undermine the fake news peddlers’ influence.
Do we really want Facebook and Google to determine what is and isn’t a hoax, then edit and shape what we see, based on their determination? What criteria would be used to make such a determination? Would it require limiting or outing The Onion or The Daily Show from our newsfeeds? What about religion news based on the premise that Jesus actually rose from the grave 2,000 years ago, or that God descended upon Mount Sinai 1,200 years before that in order to give the Israelites 10 Commandments? Perhaps it would decide that Stephen Hawking’s prediction that the world will be destroyed within 1,000 years, as he did this week, should also not be covered as news.
Direct threats of violence, spreading hateful words or images which directly inspire terrorism, etc. These are things which should be policed and prohibited from reaching a wider audience. Fake news? As offensive as it is, I think that we, not some corporation, are the most important and effective firewall. And the building of that firewall begins by appreciating that fake news spreads, not simply because people are stupid or lazy, but because fake news often speaks to real emotions.
We often want to believe the very worst about those we oppose, and so we spread the most outrageous stories which reflect that worst, often with greater speed than those who like the story in question may do so. Why? Because, more often than we realize or want to admit, it feels so good to know how bad “those people” we oppose really are, right? The only problem is that such sanctimony, however emotionally satisfying it may be for some of us, is a really dangerous self-indulgence, as we are now learning.
And for those who actually agree with the fake news stories they are spreading, it probably pays to ask what speaks to you about the story you are sending. More often than not, it is likely to be a deep emotional resonance about the issue at hand – an emotional resonance that runs so deep, it shuts down any capacity to question or challenge. Hardly the best way to consume almost anything, regardless of how good it sometimes feels to have the news so totally confirm our understanding of events.
Bottom line is that whether we spread fake news because we hate the story or we love the story, we are most susceptible precisely because of the real emotion evoked by the fake news. Perhaps if we all remembered that, then we, not some company, could better control of stories ranging from silly to total BS, and in so doing, preserve both maximum freedom and maximum responsibility. That’s always a tall order, I know, but one I hope we are up to, especially given the alternatives.
Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC’s Nightline UpClose, PBS’s Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, “For God’s Sake,” for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. He authored the book, You Don?t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Brad also serves as President of Clal, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center in New York City.