H.R.5181

Bowser said:
Do we trust our government to determine what is propaganda and what is truth?

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5181/all-info
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I think government is more credible than Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Mark Levin, Alex Jones, Sean Hannity and all the other sources of right wing entertainment. The government has a better track record of telling the truth than any of the aforementioned sources.

We have lot of ignorant and misinformed people out there owing to the previously mentioned right wing sources. Several academic studies have demonstrated consumers of information from any of those sources are less well informed than consumers of no news. That's pretty bad, and a damning indictment.

In my view what is needed, is to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and we need to train people to properly vet information. Information providers like Google, Facebook, et al. need to label information as fake news or questionable news, and they are now doing so. But ultimately, people need to be aware of fake news and they need to do their own vetting of information. They need to listen to the both sides with open ears; too often people only seek to confirm their biases. That's wrong and that's dangerous, e.g. The Donald.

Government isn't going to fix fake news. Government shouldn't be the arbiter of what is said. It's that freedom of speech thingy. Government should help provide a platform for free and honest discussion, but it should not control the discussion. What happens on places like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, et al. isn't free or honest. It's construction is very much like the Russian propaganda machine. That needs to change. Limbaugh and Fox News should be able to say whatever they want to say. But they should also allow for a free and fair discussion of issues of importance which is something they don't do today.
 
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Bowser said:
There are people in hiding or in jail for telling the truth, Stupid. Really, should we trust the government with the power to determine truth?
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Well, if they're telling the truth, stupid.

Politics is not a mathematical science .
 
Bowser said:
There are people in hiding or in jail for telling the truth, Stupid. Really, should we trust the government with the power to determine truth?
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The government has been trusted to determine the truth from the very beginning. What do you think they do in courts across the land every day? That's a core judicial function.
 
Bowser said:
how would we know they are telling the truth without alternative sources of information?
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And just how do we discern the truth when presented with alternative sources of information? How do you tell which source to believe, Bowser? (Inadequately and incompetently come to mind but I'm interested in your methodology, not adverbs.)

Whatever your answer may be, you are probably wrong...

Nevertheless, Americans firmly believe that they are not fooled by made-up news. Thirty-nine percent are “very confident” they can recognize news that is fabricated. An additional 45% feel “somewhat confident.” As Pew noted, “Americans overall seem to be pretty comfortable that they can navigate this information environment, this hall of mirrors, if you will.”

But numerous studies suggest that Americans aren’t as adept at recognizing fake stories as they believe. An Ipsos poll for Buzzfeed News found that 75% of Americans who recognized a fake news story from the election still viewed the story as accurate. Respondents were shown six headlines—three false and three true. If they recalled seeing the story before, they were asked if the headline was accurate. Respondents believed the fake headlines were “somewhat” or “very” accurate 75% of the time. One made-up story (“Donald Trump Sent His Own Plane to Transport 200 Stranded Marines”) was viewed as accurate by 84% of respondents.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bretted...ake-news-studies-show-they-cant/#d771d1e54a4f​
 
Bowser said:
Stupid, how would we know they are telling the truth without alternative sources of information?
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How will alternative sources clarify anything? I think that's kind of the problem. More often than not, as demonstrated by the American right wing, alternative sources confuse and spread fake news more than they clarify and educate. As Randwolf points out what makes you qualified to evaluate the trustworthiness and veracity of the alternatives? If you don't have that ability the alternatives confuse more than they clarify, e.g. the American right wing.

I'd love to see us go back to the days of the Fairness Doctrine where every media organization was required to provide a platform for fair and honest discussion. In a democracy we need that discussion, and unfortunately, with the rise of Republican entertainment where Republicans can create their own "facts" out of whole cloth, we sorely lack and need that discussion.

What really concerns me is how alike the Republican media and Putin's media are, even down to the scripted debates, and every American should find that disturbing.
 
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Well here's the Marines = cannon fodder.

I'm sorry you're not rich enough to figure that out.
 
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FatFreddy said:
US government sources are the worst places to get information. Don't take anything from the American mainstream media seriously.

Here are two good sources.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
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Oh yes, and your specious anonymous sources are so much more credible? Seriously, your sources don't even have the guts to identify themselves, and you think they are better sources?

Where is your evidence US government sources are the worst sources? Just because reality doesn't stroke your biases, it doesn't follow that the sources are bad. You have made some extraordinary assertions; so let's see some extraordinary proofs. If you are an honest and semi intelligent individual, you should be easily able to do it. But you can't do it comrade.
 
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joepistole said:
Oh yes, and your specious anonymous sources are so much more credible? Seriously, your sources don't even have the guts to identify themselves, and you think they are better sources?

Where is your evidence US government sources are the worst sources? Just because reality doesn't stroke your biases, it doesn't follow that the sources are bad. You have made some extraordinary assertions; so let's see some extraordinary proofs. If you are an honest and semi intelligent individual, you should be easily able to do it. But you can't do it comrade.
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I've lived abroad for twenty seven years and I've spoken to a lot of non-Americans who didn't know each other such as Central and South Americans, Asians, Africans, and Philippinos. They all have stories about American imperialism that are consistent with the articles in this site.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/

Outside of the US that info is considered the basics. Outside of the US there's nothing more amusing than a group of Americans discussing politics.

Here's some info on the American media for you to check out.
http://www.sciforums.com/threads/psychology-of-conspiracy-theorists.144995/page-18#post-3408609
 
FatFreddy said:
I've lived abroad for twenty seven years and I've spoken to a lot of non-Americans who didn't know each other such as Central and South Americans, Asians, Africans, and Philippinos. They all have stories about American imperialism that are consistent with the articles in this site.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/

Outside of the US that info is considered the basics. Outside of the US there's nothing more amusing than a group of Americans discussing politics.

Here's some info on the American media for you to check out.
http://www.sciforums.com/threads/psychology-of-conspiracy-theorists.144995/page-18#post-3408609
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Again, I asked you for credible sources to back up your assertions. I didn't ask you to repeat your previous unfounded specious assertions. I asked for facts comrade. You do know what facts are? I've spoken to a lot of non-Americans too, and those conversations aren't consistent with your assertions. So let's see the hard facts from credible sources which would lead a reasoned person to your assertions. Where are they?
 
FatFreddy said:
Can you give me an example of what you consider to be a credible source? Also, why do you simply accept what the American media say?
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You don't know the meaning of the word credible? Well that says a lot doesn't it?

For your edification:

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/credible

A credible source identifies itself. It doesn't hide behind pseudo names. Your "sources" don't even have the guts to identify themselves. They hide behind pseudonyms. Credible evidence is independently verifiable from sources which have a track record of getting it right. It really isn't that difficult.

Why do you summarily and without merit reject credible media sources? Where is your evidence I accept whatever the American media says? If you really knew anything about the "American media" you would know, unlike your beloved Mother Russia, there is no single American media. The American media is very diverse. You have the American version the Russian Times, i.e. Fox News, and you have mainstream sources like CNN, New York Times, etc. The American media runs the gamut of opinion, style, and journalistic standards. There are credible American sources and American media sources which are not credible. The American media isn't a single monolithic entity as you have represented it to be. It is very diverse, and produces an wide variety of opinions and perspectives. Further, I don't limit myself to just the American media. I read media sources from across the world, e.g. BBC, Al Jeezera, The Economist, The Associated Press, etc. But I don't waste my time reading specious sources who hide behind pseudonyms as you do. If they don't have the balls to identify themselves, why should I waste my time? I'm not looking for someone to stroke my confirmation bias. I want the truth.

You, what do you reference, a single specious web site. :)
 
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