Protecting Yourself from Misinformation

I thought the information in this article was quite appropriate for the current events going on today, it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic, the current war being waging in the Ukraine, and really all reports being spread now about a number of topics. There are several posters on this website, most of us have seen, that are blindly trusting one side of information over another. How can we be sure we are not being mislead?

Do not believe everything you see or hear

What the Bible says: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.

We can easily be deceived if we are not careful. Consider, for example, captioned images or brief videos that are widely spread online, especially through social media. Such items, commonly called memes, are often meant to be humorous. However, images and video clips can easily be altered or taken out of context. People can even create videos of real people doing or saying things they never did or said.

“Most of the misinformation researchers encounter on social platforms features media that manipulates context, like memes.”—Axios Media

We can all fall for it. I know I have before, and have become very reluctant to forward news stories to others just because of this.

Ask yourself: ‘Is the content legitimate news or just a meme?’
A magnifying glass.

Evaluate the source and content

What the Bible says: “Make sure of all things.”—1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Before believing or forwarding a story, even one that is popular or repeated in the news, verify that it is true. How?

Evaluate the reliability of the source. News media companies and other organizations may slant a story because of their commercial or political bias. Compare what you see in one news outlet with other sources. At times, friends may inadvertently pass on misinformation through email messages or social media posts. Therefore, do not trust a news item unless you can check the original source.

For example are Russian news outlets the most reliable source of news about the war on Russia when their press is censored and their government is on record as lying all the time.

For example, a few years ago the Russian Federation went against a small Christian minority group in their territory known as Jehovah's Witnesses calling them extremists and banned their literature as extremist literature. When in court and asked to show their evidence they had none. Nonetheless they unjustly banned the group because they were peaceful and were not able to be radicalized. Human rights watch groups around the world condemned the persecution as against the laws of Russia on the guarantee of the freedom of religion and speech, and also those of the European Court of Human Rights which outright condemned the corruption. Since then Russian officials have assaulted, tortured, planted false evidence, raped, and imprisoned numerous Jehovah's Witnesses. If they are willing to do this with their own citizens, would you expect them to do any less to others?

In fact human rights organizations have been spreading the alarm that the Russian Federation was going down a slippery road, and what they have been doing for years to Jehovah's Witnesses was a litmus test as to what they were going to do to their own citizens on a broader scale in the future.

International organizations have spoken out against Russia’s application of the extremist law to Jehovah’s Witnesses. For example, on March 12, 2020, the OSCE Permanent Council and the European Union issued a joint statement condemning Russian authorities for their treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses: “The European Union continues to be deeply concerned about the situation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia who continue to face systemic persecution . . . We are deeply concerned about recent specific reports of torture and other ill-treatment of several members of Jehovah’s Witnesses in detention.” The statement continued: “Torture breaches international human rights law, in particular the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, all of which the Russian Federation is a state party to.”

More recently, Neil Bush, UK ambassador to the OSCE, expressed concern in a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council on March 4, 2021:

Since [Russia’s Supreme Court] 2017 ruling, we have witnessed an increasing number of detentions, criminal investigations and prosecutions of Jehovah’s Witnesses across Russia, including the arrest and sentencing of Valentina Baranovskaya and Roman Baranovskiy on 24 February, and the sentencing of Aleksandr Ivshin on 10 February. Such cases reinforce the impression of an organised campaign of persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses. . . . We remind Russia that as an OSCE participating State, they have freely signed up to a series of commitments in the OSCE’s human dimension which they must uphold."

Can a government that uses corruption, planted evidence, and lies to ban a relatively small and peaceful group of people would they not more willingly plant evidence, blame others of extremism, and lie on a grander scale?

Make sure that the content is current and accurate. Look for dates, verifiable facts, and strong evidence to support what is being said. Be especially cautious if complex information seems to be oversimplified or if the report is designed to evoke an emotional reaction.

“Fact-checking now is probably becoming as important as hand washing.”—Sridhar Dharmapuri, a Senior Food Safety and Nutrition Officer for the U.N.

Ask yourself: ‘Does this news report blur the line between fact and opinion or present only one side of the story?’
A checklist.

Be guided by facts, not personal preferences

What the Bible says: “Whoever trusts in his own heart is stupid.”—Proverbs 28:26.

We tend to trust information that confirms what we want to believe. And Internet companies often customize our news and social media feeds to offer us information based on our interests and browsing history. However, what we like to hear is not always what we need to hear.

“People are capable of being thoughtful and rational, but our wishes, hopes, fears, and motivations often tip the scales to make us more likely to accept something as true if it supports what we want to believe.”—Peter Ditto, social psychologist.

How important it is to fact check information, determine its source, and compare it with others. If you are relying on a biased organization that is slanted with its own political or social goals, should you really trust it as a trustworthy source of information just because it reports what we want to hear?

Stop the spread of misinformation

What the Bible says: “You must not spread a report that is not true.”—Exodus 23:1.

Remember that the information you share with others has the power to affect their thoughts and actions. Even if you unintentionally pass on wrong information, the consequences can be harmful.

“The No. 1 rule is to slow down, pause and ask yourself, ʻAm I sure enough about this that I should share it?’ If everybody did that, we’d see a dramatic reduction of misinformation online.”— Peter Adams, a senior vice president of the News Literacy Project.

Ask yourself: ‘Am I sharing this information because I know it is true?’

Source

Unfortunately some of the so called fact checkers are just part of the PSYOP operation to push the preferred agenda. Self discernment for those who have a brain that is not rotten can use that brain to sift through the facts from the feces .

Leaders have advisors who they listen to. Some advisors are correct with their advise to their leader while others are speaking an uninformed opinion or trying to guide the leader to a certain desired destination. A good leader listens to all and again sifts the facts from the B.S.

Self censorship is all part of another PSYOP as they want you to only listen to those who support TPTB agenda.

I say listen to everything and do your own sifting otherwise you may end up in a place which on hindsight is "Not nice" and not one of your own choosing.

“In relation to the political decontamination of our public life, the government will embark upon a systematic campaign to restore the nation’s moral and material health. The whole educational system, theater, film, literature, the press and broadcasting – all these will be used as a means to this end.”

Adolf Hitler


“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.”

Adolf Hitler

“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” Joseph Goebbels

When you examine the beliefs of Jehovah Witnesses you'll find many contradiction to what is written in the Bible. For example:

Jehovah's Witnesses deny that human beings have a spirit that exists after death. Instead they teach that like animals, a person's life ceases to exist at death.

However, the Bible clearly teaches that the human spirit continues a conscious existence after death: 2 Corinthians 5:8 — "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." See also: Luke 16:19-31; Philippians 1:23-24; Revelation 6:9-11.

The Jehovah's Witness organization also predicted that the end of the world would come in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1925 and 1942. They predicted that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be resurrected and return to the earth in 1925. They have been wrong every single time.2 The Bible declares that failed prophecy is a mark of a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

The Jehovah's Witness Organization Uses Its Authority Abusively.

In spite of its many failed prophecies, the Jehovah's Witness organization teaches that it is the only true religion, and that only its members are true Christians. It claims that no one can learn spiritual truth apart from them. It also teaches that there is salvation only in joining their organization and everyone but Jehovah's Witnesses will be destroyed at Armageddon.

The Jehovah's Witnesses organization demands that its members obey and accept, unquestioningly, every command and biblical interpretation given by the organization. The Jehovah's Witness organization has produced its own bogus version of the Bible. This version is called the New World Translation. It contains deliberate changes to many verses of Scripture. These changes try to hide the fact that Jehovah's Witness teaching is unbiblical and false.


For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses organization prohibits the use of blood transfusions.Individual Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to die or let their children die, rather than break this command, even though the Scriptures nowhere teach that blood transfusions are wrong. Any Jehovah's Witness that disobeys this rule is told he will be destroyed at the coming of Armageddon — the time of final judgment.

There's much more at the link that certainly fits the description of a cult religion when compared to a more traditional view of Biblical teachings.

I'm not trying to disparage anyone's chosen belief system, but rather pointing out how it can be seen as dangerous. Not every country is as accepting of fringe religions as the US is, and Russia is not alone in 'religious' persecution.
[wit.irr.org...]https://wit.irr.org/four-dangers-of-jehovahs-witnesses]

“Wizard's First Rule: people are stupid." Richard and Kahlan frowned even more. "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.

The wizard Zed explaining how most magic works .
Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodklind .

Memes, forget it.

Short videos, unless I can find some article or other source material, forget those.

Unless it is an exclusive original article, if an article has no source references, forget that too.

Once you get down to the original source material, if possible, find out about the writer and/or publisher's politics and where they get their money from. Once you have gotten down to this point, it should be clear if the report is biased, or some kind of propaganda (either corporate or governmental).

I believe that the initial reports in most any situation, ie. war, natural disasters, etc., are more accurate than later updated and "corrected" reports. Many would argue this, it's strictly my opinion.

No news article or report is 100% factual and unbiased, it takes personal knowledge, common sense logic, and a gut feeling to come to a conclusion on the accuracy of any report.

Above all, don't disregard some information because it doesn't fit your own biased view point. Give it some consideration esp. if it has survived the above described scrutiny.

One thread I started a while back to help with some of these issues:

32 tips for navigating a society full of propaganda and manipulation

As for the Jehovah Witnesses, on the surface they seam ok, some good people in it. Getting into it and they do come across as a more extremist form of Christianity, some of their ideas get a bit wacky, lot of scandals in the background, the leadership has lost the path of Jesus with some brainwashing, manipulation and cohesion going on. Overall they fit somewhere between the Mormon (a bit better) and Scientology (a bit worst).

With Russia trying to hold a strong, orthodox version of Christianity, I can see how they have a problem with Jehovah Witnesses.

a reply to: kwakakev

I think your post is an excellent example of misleading and false information. And a really good way to test the 4 points in the OP to not be mislead by lies and misleading propaganda.

a reply to: nugget1

This is another prime example in just believing misleading information and untruth. The 4 points of the OP were not put into practice.

a reply to: randomuser

This is the toolkit you need for making sense of this world and avoiding the traps set for all...





Nothing new under the sun

Matters of spirit/religion/God - totally different topic and both have their strengths and uses for each situation.

Just my opinion

a reply to: XXXN3O

Agreed. Good charts. The posts above slandering the religious group, with false information were totally irrelevant to the OP and off subject. But they do actually point out the fallacy of not following the guidelines in the OP, and believing just anything that is posted online, thus the spread of misinformation. And they did so doing a number of the things listed in your charts.

✌️

originally posted by: randomuser
a reply to: XXXN3O

Agreed. Good charts. The posts above slandering the religious group, with false information were totally irrelevant to the OP and off subject. But they do actually point out the fallacy of not following the rules, and believing just anything that is posted online. None of the points in the OP were kept by the two posters deciding to ignore the OP and instead spread misinformation. And they did so doing a number of the things listed in your charts.

✌️

I've not read the whole thread.

Damn, every thread I chime in just to say, heres my thoughts.







Anyways, have a good weekend

ETA: just being sarcastic
Was going at the angle of developing an internal BS detector alongside personal belief if required for you.

Here are my general guidelines:
1. Accept people in high level positions aren't necessarily smart, honest or credible. Even more, the fact that they did land in a position like that makes it more likely they are dishonest or have an agenda. This goes for religious leaders, politicians, new age gurus, and even doctors. You may like a politician's views or believe a religious leader but never surrender your own thoughts to them. I would say about 90% of the population has trouble with this one.

2. A huge red flag is whenever someone starts to mock or dehumanize people who are critical. This includes directly hostile comments as well as dismissive behavior hidden as false pity. People want to me with the "in" group and this emotion is really played upon.

3. Any person or group looking for reasons to bypass full disclosure of facts or due process.

4. Any sudden push or publicity of an issue from multiple sources at once. There is a saying something like "a lie repeated enough becomes the truth".

5. The inability to vary from the full agenda. You have to pick a side, there is no in between.

a reply to: randomuser

I find that a skeptical approach will help to identify if an article is truthful.

Especially if the article is written so as to have an emotional appeal.

Look for discrepancies. Dates and times. Look for, and read, source documents, see if they are saying the same thing as the article or if the article is applying an interpretation of the source documents not supported in the documents themselves.

If the source documents claim scientific support, most science and academic institutions fully disclose the credentials and details of the authors, and whether the articles or papers have been properly peer reviewed.

Also consider possible motive, opportunity, and capability of the alleged perpetrators, or even the publishers. Look also for previous instances of misrepresentation of the truth, that they may have been caught out on.

Consider the opposite case from what is presented. Is that credible, and which case is the more credible.

Also, consider Ockhams razor, if something is overly complex and has a small likelihood of producing the required outcome, is it really likely that it was a preferred course of action of a perpetrator?

If it relates to a conspiracy theory, how is information passing and operational organization achievable? How about payment or motivational reward, is there any sort of method of distribution of the motivational rewards, and what sort of evidence is there that participants are receiving those rewards?

a reply to: chr0naut

Looks like your methods are similar to my own with a few things added. Star and thanks for a couple of other ways to help filter the fake news.

originally posted by: XXXN3O
a reply to: randomuser

:

Would it be possible to post this image where we can read the fine print? It's so tiny, I'd love to read the details.

originally posted by: DirtWasher

originally posted by: XXXN3O
a reply to: randomuser

:

Would it be possible to post this image where we can read the fine print? It's so tiny, I'd love to read the details.

You should just be able to open a new page with it on a computer. On a device you could probalby just download the jpg. Although when I did so it looks like it needs more pixels.

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck
Once you get down to the original source material, if possible, find out about the writer and/or publisher's politics and where they get their money from. Once you have gotten down to this point, it should be clear if the report is biased, or some kind of propaganda (either corporate or governmental).

Well said, and 100% applicable to so-called scientific studies too. In fact, an alarming number of so-called validated, peer reviewed scientific studies aren't worth the electrons they occupy in cyber space, whether they are just sloppy work done by someone trying to maintain their status in the scientific community, or intentionally faked like the so-called studies purporting to prove that cholesterol/saturated cause heart disease and/or that red meat consumption causes cancer, all of which have been proven beyond doubt to be fraudulent.

originally posted by: randomuser
a reply to: nugget1

This is another prime example in just believing misleading information and untruth. The 4 points of the OP were not put into practice.

The only way it can be considered 'misleading' is if you didn't read the article. Just like the Mormon religion, the JW's took the Bible and rewrote it, adding to, taking away and changing things to their liking. Those are facts and can't be changed.
Just the practice of 'shunning' family members is so blatantly anti-Christian some question why it's even considered a religion. Some people just can't wrap their head around why you would completely turn your back on your own children for just not going to the same church as you do.
A religion that has zero tolerance for any differing opinion or beliefs to the point of ostracizing their own flesh and blood may seem a bit 'cultish' to some countries not a 'woke' as the western world. Perhaps JW's should choose the countries the reside in with those things in mind.

a reply to: DirtWasher

Would it be possible to post this image where we can read the fine print? It's so tiny, I'd love to read the details.

It's a poster. The site has them all to flick through in large text here...

Your Logical Fallacy is

a reply to: XXXN3O

Thank you for the link. A registration is required for download, unfortunately.

Threads like this should be mandatory viewing for ATS posting. I would venture to estimate about 60% of posts use the straw-man tactic.