by Barry A. Liebling
I have previously written about fact checkers. They are hired thugs employed by the bosses of leftist-controlled media. Their main job is to identify written content, video, and audio on the internet that is at odds with the woke elite. They then publicly label that content as “false,” “misleading,” “disinformation,” “out of context,” “disparaging to favored classes of people,” “much too kind to deplorable people,” “no basis in fact,” “a conspiracy theory,” and “promoting incorrect thinking.” http://www.alertmindpublishing.com/data/2020-columns-2/fact-checkers-are-hired-thugs-2020-dec/
After the fact checkers perform their essential role the media bosses inform readers and viewers that the “tainted content” is unreliable. The bosses routinely go further by attempting to make material vanish. It can be purged from websites controlled by the bosses, and links that point to it can be removed.
Of course this infuriates many conservatives and libertarians who are alarmed that entries favorable to their viewpoint are being suppressed and even obliterated. The long term solution is to develop and nurture media outlets that are friendly to liberty-oriented viewpoints that challenge and debunk leftist dogma. And it is obvious that this will require a lot of time, effort, and money.
Be clear on exactly what the source of the difficulties facing conservatives and libertarians is. Fact checkers are not causing the problem. The media bosses are fully in charge. They use fact checkers as a sneaky, dishonest way of pretending that some outside third-party is on the lookout for “misinformation.” Executives are quick to say, “it is not us, it is the independent fact checkers that determine what should be condemned.” When the fact checkers are caught making corrupt judgements the media bosses can pretend that their own hands are clean.
Blaming fact checkers for hiding and eliminating content from the internet is an error that plays into the hands of the leftist elite. It indicates that the media bosses’ charade is working, and they have successfully tricked some people into thinking fact checkers are running things.
Notice that the fact checkers are in one sense really independent. They work effectively on their own. The media bosses do not have to tell them how to identify unacceptable content. However, if a fact checking organization were to trash leftist musings and give conservative material a pass, that company would no longer be hired by the mainstream media players.
Unfortunately, some conservative and libertarian proponents have mistakenly come to believe that fact checkers are the source of trouble. Furthermore, some are calling for the government to take action and regulate fact checking companies. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/social-media-fact-checkers-david-marcus and also https://www.thewashingtontime.com/david-marcus-nobody-is-checking-the-social-media-fact-checkers-its-time-that-changed/
If you value liberty you will see that regulating fact checkers is a leap in the wrong direction. Implementing this proposal would be a gift to leftist media companies.
As of now, no alert person can conclude that fact checking companies are disinterested third parties intent on unbiased investigations of internet content. Leftists appreciate fact checkers because the firms falsely claim to be neutral while they are actually viciously partisan. The fact checker media-dance fools some people but not most. Those who are not leftists correctly dismiss fact checkers as busy-body hall monitors. Skeptics know that when a fact checker exposes “misinformation” there is likely to be something that makes the woke elite uncomfortable.
That fact checkers have earned and enjoy low status is a good thing. Their continued presence is a reminder that you should evaluate the validity of content yourself. Use your own best judgement and encourage others to do the same.
If the government were to step in and certify fact checking companies, the firms’ status would go up. Leftist would proclaim, “you can trust them because they are regulated.” Dominant media concerns would be delighted because they could assert that fact checkers are really independent and honest – and government regulation proves it.
Here is a fun question to consider. If fact checkers were supervised by the government what type of person would do the government’s work? If you realize that leftists would quickly and efficiently take over the function (just as they have annexed public schools) go the the head of the class.
It gets even more problematic. Suppose there really were an emergence of fact checking concerns that are truly fair minded. The government regulators would easily discern these upstarts were not leftist progressive and would look for ways to shut them down. Recognize that the government – unlike private companies – has the power to levy fines and even put people in prison.
Bringing government into the world of fact checking will certainly have a strong effect. It will make matters worse.
*** See other entries at AlertMindPublishing.com in “Monthly Columns.” ***