Suspicious Minds

Get wise to the media’s constant lies 

So now that the big political conventions are over, I guess we’re all supposed to pretend like there’s a choice. Both parties just spent all this energy, slamming the other one. “They’re bad, we’re good!” Don’t make me laugh. Right wing, left wing – it’s the same damn bird:  Capitalism!

What we have once again this election is two corporate entities fighting for control of our country’s economy. Profit is all they care about, and if you believe anything different you have not been paying attention. That’s got to stop, now!

A movement is going on in the streets – people from all walks of life are organizing to demand social reforms and take back our government from lobbyists aka con artists. It’s their job to sell the story that our happiness depends on Big Business. Heathcare, education, housing… even human rights – that’s all secondary to the Almighty Dollar. Bullshit.

Without workers, there’s no business. Why is this not a given fact, taught in schools? Oh right, because the billionaires in charge of our government like to control our information, too it keeps us behind the eight ball, so they think. Since they can’t shut us up in a Free Speech society, they do the opposite: monopolize media outlets, distract, and muddy the water with misinformation, conspiracy, fear and doubt. Anything to trigger a reaction, keep you jumping when they say when.

Keep us all so scared, we can’t work together. That’s what they fear: the power of the people. The indomitable strength in our numbers, if we choose to stand together and speak with One Voice. But we can’t do that, if we can’t agree on reality. If we’re arguing over flags and face masks, flipping each other’s words around on social media.

You know “Internet Troll” is a real job these days. Politicians hire trolls to stir trouble on competitors’ Facebook pages, and whip up their bases with misleading headlines and images. Adding fuel to the fire in a volatile public landscape, for their own selfish gains. Don’t be a part of that chaos!

QUESTION: Black Lives Matter is:

A.  An organization promoting violence against white people
B.  A fake charity that funnels cash to the Democratic party
C.  A group of radical Marxist militants who want to take down the country
D. A mysterious for-profit corporation with no physical address
E. The target of a massive disinformation campaign by Russian trolls

ANSWER: All of the above, if you believe everything you read (it’s E, though).

Different sources have reported all of those claims  – and more. It’s not enough to read something in the news to know it’s true. We must learn to discern fact from fabrication. We need to vet new information before spreading it like a fool and playing into the confusion.

I’m asking you right now to research Black Lives Matter for yourself. Don’t just read the first article you find, dig deep to find different perspectives. Websites like allsides.com shows Left/Right/Center versions of BLM stories side by side, for comparison. Through social media, you can confirm what individual chapters are doing, too. There’s no excuse for not knowing what to believe.

Extremists and outside agitators are actively lying to us! Deliberately distorting information to keep us at each other’s throats in a concerted effort to weaken the power of unity. Don’t be so gullible, don’t make yourself their tool. The truth is out there –  let’s use it to find common ground to build the Movement we need to change the world.  Stay in the fight!

BULLSHIT BUSTERS (Media edition)
Five tips to sniff out fake news like a champ

1:  Run the headline through a search engine, see where the information’s coming from
2:  Check those sources at mediabiasfactcheck.com, which rates various news outlets on a scale from far left to far right.
3: Check specific facts via Factcheck.org, Politifact.com and Snopes.com
4: Verify far-fetched photos thru Google Reverse Image Search.
5: Follow the money at opensecrets.org (site tracks US political contributions)

About Lorenzo Woodson 37 Articles
Dr. Lorenzo Woodson (Ph.D., RBT, CC, LBS) is a licensed behavior analyst specializing in clients on the autism spectrum. He lives in Germantown with his wife of 24 years, and lectures nationally for social causes. Lorenzo is a member of Men Who Care of Germantown. Connect with Lorenzo on Facebook or email him at drwoodson@nwlocalpaper.com.

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