2021-10-28
So what is 'disinformation' According to that link, it's basically information that is false, delivered under the motivation/intention to mislead. Misinformation, on the other hand, is simply defined as false information, with or without the intent to deceive. So all disinformation is also misinformation; but, all misinformation isn't necessarily disinformation. For example, a falsely attributed and/or untrue internet quote, might simply be misinformation; in that, some one may have just remembered something incorrectly. At any rate, I'll leave you to digest all that.
However, this is where I'd like to bring in that irksome phrase, 'fake news.' Unfortunately, things have gotten so bad, 'fake news,' has it's own dictionary definition now (not in Merriam Webster's dictionary, though, it seems). The reason I find this phrase irksome at best and abhorent at the worst, is because, it used to mean something. Well, clearly, it means something, you might say; it has a dictionary entry! Yes, that is clear. What a lot of people seem to have forgotten, or aren't even old enough to remember, is that, it used to have a different, 'definition.'
When I was coming of age, there was this awesome new television channel called Comedy Central. And among the various oddities in the wonderful world of humor, therein, you could tune in at a certain hour and watch Craig Kilborn deliver the, 'fake news,' on, "The Daily Show". The reason calling The Daily Show's news, fake, was appropriate, was because, it was, you guessed it, 'fake.' It was news, that was not real; but, with a generous helping of humorous wit, sort of elucidated a bit of the absurdity in the, 'actual news,' of the day, which ironically or not, was probably quite full of shit. It was probably less shitty than what passes for news these days; but, it was probably still shitty.
In my opinion, anyway, the real, 'fake news,' had it's hay day. During it's glory years, the, 'fake news,' was the best news, because it was fuckin' hilarious, and often delivered a healthy serving of subtle truth. I think it still tries to do that today; but, the, 'fake news,' has been dethroned by the likes of CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and all the rest. Not only that, but the, old guard, and their humorous, 'fake news,' I think, in it's rising popularity, began to take itself too seriously. And so now, The Daily Show, and others like it, seem to generally just give you the news, with their spin, and maybe a humorous prod and poke here and there, that you may find funny, if you happen to be on par with their bias.
Anyway, the point, is that, 'fake news,' was about the funny. You didn't read, The Onion, or watch The Daily Show, to be informed; you did those things to laugh your ass off, as well as sort of, 'fart in the general direction,' of all the dramatic goose-step of the, 'real news,' of the day; all the while getting to enjoy the sense of irony that your, 'fake news,' intake, was arguably keeping you closer to the real truth, of the matters at hand. Now, 'fake news,' is dead. It's epitaph, reads as definition numero uno, under it's dictionary.com definition.
I suppose that grand tradition of, 'fake news,' is still alive. Maybe the spirit is still there too, and I'm just more fond of a certain past. But, I can bet you one thing, as of this day. It's probably 99.99% likely, that if you hear the words, 'fake news,' these days, people aren't referring to a piece such as this. That, is some respectable fake news..!
Anyway, for my two cents, the fake news is about the funny; and good fake news, due to the nature of the circumstances we live in, often has a few golden nuggets of truth at it's core; that's where the funny comes from. Misinformation and disinformation, however, are probably too big of words for most people to want to grapple with these days. And likewise, so is Truth...