Recently, I've been reading Sharyl Atkinson's book "The Smear". Essentially it is an attempt to describe how we the populace at large is being manipulated daily and shines a light on the industry that is larger and scarier than I ever suspected. It's been helpful to learn from what she discovered in researching her book exactly who (at least some of) the culprits and what their methods are. In browsing You Tube, I stumbled across this Ted talk Sharyl gave recently at the University of Nevada concerning one recent example of that manipulation...namely "Fake News". Without further comment, I submit this short (approx 10 min) talk she gave. I thought it would be of interest to some here...
Accomplished woman, high level of education, however: Sinclair Broadcasting Group Daily Signal, funded by conservative think tanks Uses rhetoric that is clearly partisan in this talk (or maybe subtly partisan for less critical thinkers) Maybe one of the worst kind morally bereft actions is to misuse knowledge and the abuse of power. She's doing it right here by talking about "fake news" but carefully seeding her own slant (which apparently fools some and/or reinforces bias for some individuals). Apparently Google and Clinton are the boogeyman founders of evil fake news for the use in propoganda, whereas Trump executed a smart hostile takeover of a weapon used against him... and then the Washington Posts weeps. Give me a break TheresTheDagger, if you posted someone who was truly neutral and they criticized the left, that would be respectable imo. But for you to post someone like this and think she's on to something, that's sad. Either you're not intelligent to see her bias or you're just pushing the same agenda. This is why the left can't stand the right... it's hard to find critical thinkers and the ones that are, they're just trying to fool the rest of the party for their own benefit. Sorry, but this TED Talk is fake news .
...says the lady who works for Sinclair Broadcast Group. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Some people are gullible enough to gobble up whatever pablum is served to rationalize their support for and defense of our dipshit-in-chief.
I respect your distrust here. In this day and age, it is wise to automatically distrust all sources until further proven to be trustworthy. I simply found her insights to be interesting given her premise that "following the money" is a good place to start. You should know that in her book, she cites people across the political spectrum as being culpable in the art of "The Smear". Unfortunately, that isn't something that was put across in this video as it was a short talk. I posted this particular author/reporter solely because I am currently reading her book and found the Ted talk. You can choose to believe that or not. In the meantime, I would encourage you to list someone who addresses (for lack of a better term) "Fake News" who you deem to be truely neutral. It's obviously a topic of interest to me. I find these comments unfortunate. I can assure you I am not looking to "push an agenda" nor do I consider myself "not intelligent". I'm a bit amused however that you jumped immediately to assessing my intelligence so quickly. I'm trying hard not to make similar assumptions about my fellow Clutchfan members here. Its not productive and insulting...neither of which help provoke stimulating debate or conversation. Meanwhile.... There is a 3rd possibility. The possibility that an interested citizen and voter is trying to discern when he is being manipulated and is searching for some way to bring that topic to a discussion board. Again, you are free to believe what you like. p.s. When folks attempt to shut down discussion by attacking the messenger (Sad, not intelligent, pushing an agenda) rather than the message, this is a classic example of a type of "Smear".
Ehhh she is pretty biased and has made some pretty extreme claims without any real evidence to back it up. Having said that, she is free to express her opinions and there is certainly truth that we all are influenced by the culture around us.
Thanks, I really respect this kind of response and you're right that I should not be quick to personally attack the poster.
She is so far on the right that she can't have a neutral perspective. Her views don't show any understanding of the otherside nor compromise. How can you consider her to be a critical thinker?
If you're interested in the topic you might enjoy this article, unless it is deemed fake because it might not agree with one's current paradigm. Our dipshit-in-chief benefitted mightily from fake news shaping the judgment of his supporters. The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News Long article and the rest is at the link in the headline. Here is the link to the study: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146
