I give you Alan Abel, RIP. For real, this time.
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"Go yell at an M&M"
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"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: So you think Fake News is a new thing? [klehner]
[ In reply to ]
Pinhead millennials nvr heard of the National Enquirer
As long as there have been politicians there has been fake news.
From our short history as a nation, I give you Hamilton as an example:
In speaking thus for the Freedom of the Press, I do not say there ought to be an unbridled licence; or that the characters of men who are good, will naturally tend eternally to support themselves. I do not stand here to say that no shackles are to be laid on this licence.
I consider this spirit of abuse and calumny as the pest of society. I know the best of men are not exempt from the attacks of slander. Though it pleased God to bless us with the first of characters, and though it has pleased God to take him from us and this band of calumniators, I say, that falsehood eternally repeated would have [affected] even his name. Drops of water in long and continued succession will wear out a [diamond]. This therefore cannot be endured.
The world has changed a lot since Hamilton gave this speech. Today, I would imagine that the Hamilton-Burr feud might have played out on Twitter, where maybe some third party could have mediated the situation and no one would have died. Instead, a questionable quote in a paper, referencing something Hamilton may or may not have said, resulted in escalation via letter writing and eventually a duel. You know how that story ended. Regardless of how our media has changed in the past 212 years, the same principles apply: A falsehood repeated over and over can cause immense damage. And it is even more damaging when the source of advertising around those falsehoods is unknown. I’m not naive enough to think this can change overnight, but the future of our democracy will depend on it. If we really are in danger from fascism, it’s going to be up to the companies that drive the greatest reach in the digital age to ensure greater transparency about who is behind the fast-growing propaganda machine. https://www.salon.com/...rds-of-transparency/
Suffer Well.
From our short history as a nation, I give you Hamilton as an example:
Quote:
Going back to the year 1804, Alexander Hamilton gave a speech on behalf of the defendant in People v. Croswell, a case that resulted in an appeal (and a tie decision) in the U.S. Supreme Court and in many ways shaped how our country views libel. I recommend you read more about it if you haven’t before. In Hamilton’s famous speech, he said: In speaking thus for the Freedom of the Press, I do not say there ought to be an unbridled licence; or that the characters of men who are good, will naturally tend eternally to support themselves. I do not stand here to say that no shackles are to be laid on this licence.
I consider this spirit of abuse and calumny as the pest of society. I know the best of men are not exempt from the attacks of slander. Though it pleased God to bless us with the first of characters, and though it has pleased God to take him from us and this band of calumniators, I say, that falsehood eternally repeated would have [affected] even his name. Drops of water in long and continued succession will wear out a [diamond]. This therefore cannot be endured.
The world has changed a lot since Hamilton gave this speech. Today, I would imagine that the Hamilton-Burr feud might have played out on Twitter, where maybe some third party could have mediated the situation and no one would have died. Instead, a questionable quote in a paper, referencing something Hamilton may or may not have said, resulted in escalation via letter writing and eventually a duel. You know how that story ended. Regardless of how our media has changed in the past 212 years, the same principles apply: A falsehood repeated over and over can cause immense damage. And it is even more damaging when the source of advertising around those falsehoods is unknown. I’m not naive enough to think this can change overnight, but the future of our democracy will depend on it. If we really are in danger from fascism, it’s going to be up to the companies that drive the greatest reach in the digital age to ensure greater transparency about who is behind the fast-growing propaganda machine.
Suffer Well.