
How technology disrupted the truth - dredmorbius
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-trutht
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dredmorbius
As I'd just commented on another HN article, the answer to crap on the Web is
not simply blocking ads. That's a necessary but not sufficient condition. A
media environment based on eyeballs and clickthroughs, on weaponised viral
clickbait, and without sufficient reputation management tools _especially_ for
adherence to truth and relevance on the part of authors and publishers, is
destroying the primary function of media _of telling true and relevant facts_.
The consequences for a democratic society, predicated on an informed,
educated, and thoughtful public (and some rightfully add: a politically and
economically enfranchised one), is enormous.

From Viner's excellent essay, you'll find the lede buried in the middle:
"Increasingly, what counts as a fact is merely a view that someone feels to be
true – and technology has made it very easy for these “facts” to circulate
with a speed and reach that was unimaginable in the Gutenberg era (or even a
decade ago). A dubious story about Cameron and a pig appears in a tabloid one
morning, and by noon, it has flown around the world on social media and turned
up in trusted news sources everywhere. This may seem like a small matter, but
its consequences are enormous."

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trgx
Broken link. [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-
technology...](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-
disrupted-the-truth)

