The Chicken or the Egg?

The reading this week in the Social Role of the Mass Media class included an article headlined “Cultural production of ignorance provides rich field for study.”

My mind immediately leapt to Facebook and how people use it to propagate such ignorance.

Field.  Boone County, Arkansas.  Photographed by Stephen Milligan (June 25, 2014).

A glance at recent activity on Facebook provides a sampling of the material people fertilize that field with to make it even richer:

“‘Fire of God’ Is Coming!—Warning Signs in America 2015”

“Christians Look to Torah Portion to Prove Solar Eclipse Is the ‘Shadow of God’”

“Obama Hasn’t Congratulated PM Netanyahu—but He Congratulated Erdogan, Sisi, Rouhani…and Putin!”

“Obama refuses to renew 40-year-oldemergency oil supply pact with Israel”

“Russian companies prepare employees fornuclear war”

How can people actually believe this stuff?

It didn’t take much time to find out more about the sites posting this material: one admits to publishing straight news along with conspiracy theory and prophesy; one claims to have neither a conservative or liberal perspective but a Biblical one; one promises to tell the truth about Israel and Judaism; one has a definite conservative republican slant (this one actually appears to be the most believable of the bunch); and one proclaims a Christian, conservative, orthodox worldview.   

How can people actually believe this stuff?  Oh, wait…I’ve already asked that question.  Trying to find any common sense here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Now, there may be some kernel of truth hidden somewhere in these stories (it’s always good to start with a little truth for that realistic touch), but there’s an obvious pattern to their subject matter.  Of course, I admit I knew exactly where to look for these stories—some Facebook friends share them with such frequency and in such quantity, it doesn’t take long to figure out their political or religious feelings. 

Interestingly, more than one of these websites proudly proclaims to be publishing the truth that the mainstream media doesn’t.  If only people would examine these stories and sites more carefully before posting—if your source publishes hard news and conspiracy theory, perhaps it’s not the most credible place for gathering information.  That’s a horse of a different color, though—one I’m afraid many people aren’t willing to ride.

Instead, they’re going to go for the pig in a poke: They’re going to read what they want to read, believe what they want to believe, and post what they want to post.  Journalism of Affirmation appears to have a hand in the cultural production of ignorance…or is it the other way around…?