The Real Problem Isn't Misinformation — It's Us

In the information age, lies are abundant. Advancements in social media, and technology in general, have presented us with a never-ending stream of text, audio, and video to explore and consume. Lies and falsehoods are an inevitable by-product of that. While widespread lies are concerning, the bigger concern at play is the willingness of individuals to believe them. It could be argued that there is a bit of victim-blaming in that sentiment — but I think it's a distinction worth making.

We may be the victims of circumstance. What we need not do is accept that as a permanent condition. This is not a new problem. Pharaoh was misled into believing Sarai was merely Abram's sister. He was punished after acting on false information nonetheless — consequences he perhaps did not deserve. Circumstance is not an excuse history has ever reliably honored.

We may be limited. We are not helpless.

Individual Responsibility in the Information Age

False information is fundamentally no different than it has ever been. It's simply more widely available. The responsibility remains the same. And it is our responsibility. Blindly delegating that to a third party is itself irresponsible. We, as individuals, owe it to ourselves to do better. No one can arrive at truth entirely alone — but everyone must make the effort at an individual level.

We have a responsibility to those around us as well. By not taking truth-seeking upon ourselves, we are at the mercy of others who will define the truth for us. If we do not take it upon ourselves to seek out the truth, it will be sought out for us — likely by the exact people we do not want to do so. If we don't want to see the people we care about lied to, we shouldn't allow them to be lied to by proxy. We should seek to be informed so that we are not contributing to that deception through our own ignorance.

We Are the Demand Side of the Problem

Distraction and falsehood adhere to the law of supply and demand. And we do demand it. We demand it with our clicks. We demand it with our views. We demand it with our likes, our emojis, our shares. The suppliers are not innocent — but they are not our responsibility. The reader is. The viewer is. That's us.

If we want to see a reduction in outrage and ridiculous content, our efforts must be primarily applied at a personal level. If we want to change the status quo, we have to first demand more from the reader, the individual. We can get familiar with the block and mute buttons.

Reading as a Path to Truth

There is a direct connection between our responsibility to those we care about and gaining wisdom. This alone should be a cause for action — specifically, the action of reading seriously and deliberately.

Reading has been called The Great Conversation — the accumulated record of human thought across millennia. It is the closest thing we have to direct access to primary sources. To seek truth seriously, we must expose ourselves to ideas beyond our immediate experience. Reading is the most accessible way to do that.

There is something genuinely valuable about working with no algorithm. The algorithm feels good because it's validating. But that comfort comes at a cost. All too often it silos us into repetitive content, narrowing our view. Reading, by contrast, spurs discovery. A book leads to another book, an idea to an unexpected question. Sometimes we need a bit of stumbling to come across the things we don't know we don't know.

Know What You Think

If we want to change the status quo, that starts with an effort to seek out the truth for ourselves. We can't hold strong beliefs if they aren't built on a strong foundation. To have a foundation, we must first know what we think. And to know what we think, we must be able to express it. Beliefs require a foundation. A foundation requires knowing your own mind. Knowing your own mind requires the willingness to do the work of thinking — and reading — seriously.

"The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks." — Mortimer Adler

We owe that effort to ourselves. We owe it to those around us. We are not helpless.