Fake news directs our attention to something else we know to be true that remains often harder to see: the internet’s hidden corporate architecture and governmental backbone. The foundational lies of today’s internet—that it is a public good rather than a monetized commodity; that it promotes or is even interested in freedom of expression and civil discourse; that our actions here are activism rather than consumerism—are papered over by facetious platitudes.
The fake news is not new, and it should not come as a surprise. In reality, the internet is primarily a place of censorship, capitalism, surveillance, distraction, and entertainment: the perfect incubator for fake news and all that might result from it.
See More 100hardtruths-#fakenews:
- “With a Big Red Stamp, Russia is Singling Out What It Calls ‘Fake’ News,” Neil MacFarquhar
- The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, Evgeny Morozov, 2012