Hints to resist desinformation

[Diavolo]

Hello, dear adult human beings. I welcome you to this little tutorial. I am going to teach you how not to believe the first thing that is presented to you on the Internet as true information. Even question this that you are about to read.

Before, let's talk a little about the infodemic. According to an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology, A&R, whose link I will leave at the end of this article, The term infodemic is used to refer to the abundance of information on a specific topic. The term is derived from the union between the word information and the word epidemic. It is related to similar concepts such as fake news or intoxication, as the amount and exposure of these intensify

We all know the typical person who does not review the information that comes to him/her and spreads it, adopting it as true, without first verifying it.

1.- Detect if the person is an authority or not on a subject.

Surely you have met 1 or more people who are shown as carriers of the truth in some group. Not bad. The first thing you can do is ask for their credentials. Perhaps it is an authority on the subject. Otherwise, it is highly likely that it is someone who only expresses his/her opinion and her personal projections towards a specific topic.

2.- After requesting the above, it is best to request the sources on which the comments are based. If he or she is an authority, it is highly likely that he/she shares specialized texts on the subject of which he/she speaks. Otherwise, the information does not have sufficient support to be taken seriously. Next, I will leave a few pages to be able to verify the veracity of the sources of information obtained.

3.- Use of scientific search engines, my friend.

 Any subject can do a search on Google, but, in case you didn't know, Google has its own scientific search engine. There, you will only find information that is validated and exposed in reliable media; used by researchers across the globe.

https://scholar.google.com/

Scientific seekers there are a lot. Don't get caught up in ordinary Google, which is used to search for cat videos and tik tokers.

Well, that's it! Now you are less vulnerable. If you think I have missed any points, please let me know. Always remember to discuss serious issues with reliable sources of information. Be responsible with the information you share, you never know who can read it. Greetings, mortals!

Scientific source about infodemic:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/art.41468

Verifiers:

 

 

[Insomnia]

Thanks for the post.  I think many people would benefit from this

[Trappernicus]

Another important question to ask is; “Does the individual have a vested interest in what they are talking about”. In politics this is called a ‘conflict of interests’. In science we might want to know if the individual is gaining some form of credit/financial benefit from adhering to the position they are stating. 🦊

[Diavolo]

17 minutes ago, Trappernicus said:

Another important question to ask is; “Does the individual have a vested interest in what they are talking about”. In politics this is called a ‘conflict of interests’. In science we might want to know if the individual is gaining some form of credit/financial benefit from adhering to the position they are stating. 🦊

It is almost an excellent question, well ... is it possible not to be interested in what is being talked about? If so, why would a person commit to offering an answer, if the subject is indifferent to him/her? Who does not feel affection for cars, can not find commenting anything about engines in car forums. Or if? Perhaps boredom and lack of direction; of a sense of life, lead someone to carry out such behaviors, but since they do not have much to contribute, the community itself would realize how irrelevant their contributions are.

 

Now, is the credit benefit all that there is an incentive for an individual to intervene in one way or another on an issue? I already quoted an example that could prove that this is not the case. Nobody is paying me to write this, for example. And I am doing a type of political activism since politics refers to both individual and collective actions that give order to a state and/or a group of individuals in order to achieve a common goal or to solve a problem. In politics, power is not only played in the form of money. Influence is also played as a means to be able to change the behavior of other beings, to achieve an end both of its own and of a collective, to reaffirm its own belief, to discredit those who are in power for reasons of envy; ideological. We all do politics, even by not participating in a social process, which ends up affecting us anyway.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Diavolo

[Trappernicus]

6 hours ago, Diavolo said:

It is almost an excellent question, well ... is it possible not to be interested in what is being talked about? If so, why would a person commit to offering an answer, if the subject is indifferent to him/her? Who does not feel affection for cars, can not find commenting anything about engines in car forums. Or if? Perhaps boredom and lack of direction; of a sense of life, lead someone to carry out such behaviors, but since they do not have much to contribute, the community itself would realize how irrelevant their contributions are.

 

Now, is the credit benefit all that there is an incentive for an individual to intervene in one way or another on an issue? I already quoted an example that could prove that this is not the case. Nobody is paying me to write this, for example. And I am doing a type of political activism since politics refers to both individual and collective actions that give order to a state and/or a group of individuals in order to achieve a common goal or to solve a problem. In politics, power is not only played in the form of money. Influence is also played as a means to be able to change the behavior of other beings, to achieve an end both of its own and of a collective, to reaffirm its own belief, to discredit those who are in power for reasons of envy; ideological. We all do politics, even by not participating in a social process, which ends up affecting us anyway.

I understand that you have an altruistic interest in the topic. I would refer to your recent comment.

”is it possible not to be interested in what is being talked about? If so, why would a person commit to offering an answer”

Yes, it is possible. Scientist and Politicians as well as Celebrities can all be given a range of incentives to support and promote the agendas of others. The very fact that many scientists will not question the findings of each other can be tracked to who is financially supporting their research. If they should disagree their funding could be cut off. The level of interest in these cases would be inflated by the level of funding they receive. I do believe you are confusing interest with concerns.

Money is not just used to discredit others who are targeted due to envy. Money is also used to corrupt information so as to create what President Trump termed Fake News. The creation of the false Wuhan/Covid19 narrative has been used to create a sense of despair and chaos within society. Society is being manipulated to reengineer it into something easier to control. A form of Despotic Dystopia. 🦊

 

[Diavolo]

3 hours ago, Trappernicus said:

I understand that you have an altruistic interest in the topic. I would refer to your recent comment.

”is it possible not to be interested in what is being talked about? If so, why would a person commit to offering an answer”

Yes, it is possible. Scientist and Politicians as well as Celebrities can all be given a range of incentives to support and promote the agendas of others. The very fact that many scientists will not question the findings of each other can be tracked to who is financially supporting their research. If they should disagree their funding could be cut off. The level of interest in these cases would be inflated by the level of funding they receive. I do believe you are confusing interest with concerns.

Money is not just used to discredit others who are targeted due to envy. Money is also used to corrupt information so as to create what President Trump termed Fake News. The creation of the false Wuhan/Covid19 narrative has been used to create a sense of despair and chaos within society. Society is being manipulated to reengineer it into something easier to control. A form of Despotic Dystopia. 🦊

 

"Scientists and politicians, as well as celebrities, can receive a number of incentives to support and promote the agendas of others"

What scientists? What companies? What celebrities have reached such behavior? I do not doubt that what you say is possible, however, one must have evidence at hand in order to discredit those involved. Otherwise, it only falls into reductionism and very generalism, which are of no use to clarify an issue, but to spread fear. Which, paradoxically, is what creates the dystopia you speak of.

 “The very fact that many scientists do not question the findings of others can be traced back to who is financially supporting their research. If they do not agree, their funding could be cut off. "

 I agree. This is known as utilitarianism, and it has happened. However, the same: you do not provide precise information about it. Please, share evidence.

“The creation of the false Wuhan / Covid19 narrative has been used to create a sense of despair and chaos within society. Society is being manipulated to redesign it and turn it into something easier to control "

I don't know what sources of information you consume, could you share them? What is a false narrative? You do not clarify anything you mention. You just throw words into the air. If you could quote credible examples and sources, we would all appreciate it. How do you know what you know? How do you carry out your investigations? What are your credentials? Otherwise, sadly,I would only be inclined to think that your ideas are nothing more than conspiranoic and unfounded.

[Trappernicus]

15 hours ago, Diavolo said:

"Scientists and politicians, as well as celebrities, can receive a number of incentives to support and promote the agendas of others"

What scientists? What companies? What celebrities have reached such behavior? I do not doubt that what you say is possible, however, one must have evidence at hand in order to discredit those involved. Otherwise, it only falls into reductionism and very generalism, which are of no use to clarify an issue, but to spread fear. Which, paradoxically, is what creates the dystopia you speak of.

 “The very fact that many scientists do not question the findings of others can be traced back to who is financially supporting their research. If they do not agree, their funding could be cut off. "

 I agree. This is known as utilitarianism, and it has happened. However, the same: you do not provide precise information about it. Please, share evidence.

“The creation of the false Wuhan / Covid19 narrative has been used to create a sense of despair and chaos within society. Society is being manipulated to redesign it and turn it into something easier to control "

I don't know what sources of information you consume, could you share them? What is a false narrative? You do not clarify anything you mention. You just throw words into the air. If you could quote credible examples and sources, we would all appreciate it. How do you know what you know? How do you carry out your investigations? What are your credentials? Otherwise, sadly,I would only be inclined to think that your ideas are nothing more than conspiranoic and unfounded.

I will be happy to agree to disagree with you. It would seem to me, and this is just a personal judgement call, you have a very closed and opinionated mind. One that appears to be rather "privileged" and "entitled". Perhaps you are somewhat "Woke". But that is just my opinion of you. Please don't let my personal opinions upset you or cause you any mental angst. 🦊

[Diavolo]

4) Ignore the person if he or she is unable to be reasonable!

Among adults, arguments are necessary to carry out a talk. This shows respect among the interacting people. If anyone has no arguments, he or she will proceed to insult; to carry out Ad Hominem attacks. No need to continue the talk or waste time with someone who is incapable of reasoning. Proceed with your life!

[Diavolo]

By the way, I will leave another scientific search engine to strengthen point number 3:

 

 

---- --- http://www.jurn.org/#gsc.tab=0 ---- ----

 

 

Keep waiting for updates on this Post!

Edited October 7, 2021 by Diavolo

[Trappernicus]

Hints to resist disinformation. Easy really. Don’t waste your time reading anything posted here. 🦊

[Diavolo]

Well, first of all, thanks for reliving this post. It is very important that people read it.

Second, I think that the people who visit this site have their own criteria, and for something they are adults. If they had daddy issues and needed a 60-year-old cyber-dad, pseudo-goth, I think they wouldn't be here, but on Tinder.

I see that you are very bored and despite your age, you need the attention and validation that your mother never gave you. It doesn't matter, my old boy that almost smells like a corpse, I'll be here to entertain you. You already tired me with your baseless harassments.

[Jack]

I feel like an idiot for not realizing Google had an option for this, aha. This post needs more appreciation!

[Diavolo]

1 hour ago, Jack said:

I feel like an idiot for not realizing Google had an option for this, aha. This post needs more appreciation!

We all are ignorants, somehow. I think that the problem is wanting to continue dwelling in such a state of ignorance despite having new tools and new evidence at reach. I  value your appreciation for this post