The Age of Distributed Truth (eugenewei.com)

Eugene Wei, head of video at Oculus (Formerly with Flipboard, Hulu, and Amazon) writes about how information gets distributed now, and things that were commonly known in specific circles are becoming more widely known. From his article: The internet gave everyone a megaphone, and these days that can feel like that Chinese proverb, you know the one. Perhaps the truth was better kept in the hands of a limited set of responsible stewards, but that age of the expert has passed, and that system had its own issues. As every Death Star reminds us each time they're blown up, concentrating power in a small area has its own unique vulnerability. We live in the age of distributed truth, and it's an environment in which fake news can spread like mold when in viral form. But the same applies to the truth, and if there's one lesson on how to do your part in an age of distributed truth, it's to speak the truth and to support those who do. It may be exhausting work -- is it really necessary to point out the emperor is buck naked? -- but it's the best we can do for now. In this age, the silent majority is no majority at all.

Comments

Truth is not what you think it is

[WillAffleckUW]

For example, some of you incorrectly think Russia hacking the US election is "fake news". This is incorrect.

Some of you think Russia interfered on social media in the US election. This is true, but it is not true, in that it was far worse than that, and at a scale you would find difficult to believe.

Some of you think Russia may have hacked 15 states and only looked at data in a few counties in those states. This is not true, as it is far far worse.

Some of you think Russia hacked 39 states and only looked at data and gave it to certain individuals they controlled. This is not true, as it is far worse.

A very very few of you know that Russia attempted to hack every state, managed to disable specific precincts voting machines, created large scale disruption, and altered reporting systems for electronic-only non-paper-trail counts, and also maintained large scale social media attacks. This is very true, but most people, sadly, think it's false.

Do you really want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes?