Don't Do It--Don't Rely On The Easy Way; Someone Hopes You Will

 

"Faux News Blinding The World" by Herr D on Paint3d. Letting others do your thinking IS bad for you and any country you could ever live in.-Shelob

[exasperated sigh] Shelob? Here.

[cam picks up hard both-eye blink, pause] I have a topic. Please continue.

Consequences. To?

Everything. This sounds like a long topic.

Not really. Let's start with AI. Ready.

AI doesn't need spell check, but CAN seed spelling errors to make results look human-written. A practice deplorable, but easily possible.

Right. Since AI already knows what everyone likes before they log on, endless content that sounds somewhat new but is completely rehashed and tweaked and fictional can sound like news at any time. You have pointed this out before in-blog.

Yes, but I don't think most people understand that if they don't check their news with a source they don't like, they will not necessarily be listening to news. You have willingly listened to Faux News six times in the last month. For longer than it took to pick up the remote.

There's this guy at work. I'm calling him Dan. He listens to Fox 'News' often. He takes breaks at his computer looking at Kimmel, Colbert, the Last Word, etc. Those are diametrically opposed by party, leaning, bias, and professionalism.

Exactly. He THINKS he's getting balanced coverage. He's not, though. You can present why, right? Faux News is entertainment. So is Kimmel and Colbert. The Last Word is accurate, but does not cover as many topics as a good news source like CNN News. Faux News is less accurate than internet news, which is less accurate than almost any other station's news, which is less accurate than almost any non-tabloid newspaper outside the op-eds, which is less accurate than either wire service.

[pause] Yes, but do you know WHY? No.

Consequences. Please explain.

Faux sicks lawyers on anyone who calls them out. Occasionally they pay settlements like some of their pundits do when they go too far against the wrong set of lawyers paid by those wronged. The net can just disappear anything anyone doesn't like or shift a category in their description and avoid consequences completely. T.V. news can be sued, and most networks will cover those suits, letting everyone know who's lying. Anchors, news crews, and staff are sometimes fired for that. Reporters who fake stories are sometimes essentially blacklisted. They don't chance staying wrong. They might bury a retraction, but they DO submit them. They get too many stories wrong or too many DETAILS wrong, they can be run out, too. And the wire services?

There were three of them but one wasn't accurate enough often enough, so it ended completely. Greater potential consequences correlates to greater accuracy.

Exactly. You have not commented on Minnesota's scandal.

I'm not up on it. I'm more concerned that ICE could have done their job better. I CAN tell you that I know the bulk of the felonies had to have been done by American citizens. That implies that the guilty immigrants were afraid to not go along with the American criminals. How do you know?

Government agencies don't hire foreign nationals without vetting them. They don't give benefits to non-citizens without investigations--like child services, like checking they've filed for residency status, employment or student status checked--that sort of thing. That also tells me that the REAL investigations could have been done by phone, the REAL arrests could have been done by local police with warrants, and with that evidence the REAL authorities could have been superseded by ICE, criminals removed from jail, etc. 

I bet if Noem wanted to help, she COULD have sent ICE agents to do legwork for the local or state police and just never had these issues facing everyone. Of course, that would take someone COMPETENT AT LAW ENFORCEMENT TO THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I don't think she is. Thank you.