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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Tuesday, November 29, 2016 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor MARISSA WILLIAMS Regional Advertising Director MARCY ROSENBERG Circulation Manager JANNA HEIMGARTNER Business Office Manager MIKE JENSEN Production Manager OUR VIEW Fake news fixation has the power to reshape our world An early scene in George Orwell’s legendary dystopian novel “1984” has the main character rewriting history to suit a repressive government’s political agenda. What we actually have in 2016, 32 years after the Orwell’s fictional world, is a news environment in which private citizens and those who want to manipulate us can create, share and often believe fake news — fictions that have the power to reshape our government. Newspapers and other “legacy” organizations don’t have a monopoly on the truth. We are prone to our own biases — often a nearly unconscious belief in moderate politics and incremental change for the common good. Even so, we are traditionally reliable curators of the news, providing a record of the facts that is literally printed in black and white. Falsehoods and biases are fairly easily spotted and challenged. A newspaper that too often blatantly disregards the facts doesn’t stay long in business. Those that have longevity have done so by building credibility within the communities they serve and keeping it on a daily basis by diligently working to separate fact from fiction. Slippery do-it-yourself news of the kind so commonly found on Facebook isn’t so easily policed or punished by the marketplace. It has neither cost nor consequences. In fact, as Americans increasingly seek validation rather than objective information, there are rewards for even flagrant lies online, so long as they achieve enough popularity to be shared among people with like beliefs. “People most readily believe that which they can believe most conveniently,” Cliffs Notes observes in its essay about “1984.” This is almost the definition of modern U.S. politics, in which many Americans choose to believe or disbelieve stories based on complicated personal and political preconceptions. It is a fact of modern life that more Americans get information from Facebook posts than directly from the entities that actually do the hard work of fact-gathering. If you have friends with diverse political beliefs and levels of education, you are certain to encounter Facebook posts with conflicting reports on climate change, immigration, terrorism or many other hot issues. There was, for example, a posting last week that boldly asserted Donald Trump overwhelming won the popular vote, despite the objective fact that the opposite is true. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has struggled with a response to widespread accusations that his company aided and abetted the dispersal of falsehoods that warped the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. In essence, his problem is how to maintain Facebook as a freewheeling marketplace for ideas, while somehow not allowing it to be an easily manipulated stooge that regurgitates lies that are packaged in superficially believable ways. After initially denying it was the problem, Facebook now reportedly is looking into third-party verification services, better automated detection tools and simpler ways for users to flag suspicious content. In a Nov. 18 column in The New York Times, John Herrman notes that these fake news items are “indefensible, easy to identify and extraordinarily viral.” The bigger problem, in his opinion, is the more subtle manipulation of people through a clever blending of out-of- context “facts” that mesh with reader biases and preconceptions. Herrman is pessimistic about Facebook actually correcting a profitable system in which its members get to decide on alternative versions of reality. “Those who expect the operator of the dominant media ecosystem of our time, in response to getting caught promoting lies, to suddenly return authority to the companies it has superseded are in for a … surprise,” he observed. Even on Facebook, it is possible to be a sophisticated news consumer. Double check the credibility of sources and look for stories by organizations that have a direct financial and reputational stake in being reliable. Ultimately, there actually is a true version of the facts. Any community that wants to play for real and actually succeed can best do so by embracing reality. Facts, not fantasies, are the path to success. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. Why corruption matters R emember all the news reports an answer. Part of this is ideology, suggesting, without evidence, but it’s also true that vouchers might that the Clinton Foundation’s eventually find their way to for-profit fundraising created conflicts of educational institutions. interest? Well, now the man who And the track record of for-profit benefited from all that innuendo is education is truly terrible; the Obama on his way to the White House. And administration has been cracking he’s already giving us an object lesson down on the scams that infest the in what real conflicts of interest look industry. But things will be different Paul like, as authoritarian governments Krugman now: For-profit education stocks around the world shower favors on his soared after the election. Two, three, Comment business empire. many Trump Universities! Of course, Donald Trump could be Moving on, I’ve already written rejecting these favors and separating himself about the Trump infrastructure plan, which and his family from his hotels and so on. for no obvious reason involves widespread But he isn’t. In fact, he’s openly using his privatization of public assets. No obvious position to drum up business. And his early reason, that is, except the huge opportunities appointments suggest that he won’t be the for cronyism and profiteering that would be only player using political opened up. power to build personal But what’s truly scary wealth. Self-dealing will be is the potential impact of the norm throughout this corruption on foreign policy. administration. America Again, foreign governments has just entered an era of are already trying to buy unprecedented corruption at influence by adding to the top. Trump’s personal wealth, and The question you need to he is welcoming their efforts. ask is why this matters. Hint: In case you’re wondering, It’s not the money, it’s the yes, this is illegal, in fact incentives. unconstitutional, a clear True, we could be talking violation of the emoluments about a lot of money — think clause. But who’s going to billions, not millions, to enforce the Constitution? Trump alone (which is why Republicans in Congress? his promise not to take Don’t be silly. his salary is a sick joke). Destruction of democratic But America is a very rich norms aside, however, think country, whose government about the tilt this de facto spends more than $4 trillion a year, so even bribery will give to U.S. policy. What kind large-scale looting amounts to rounding error. of regime can buy influence by enriching What’s important is not the money that sticks the president and his friends? The answer is, to the fingers of the inner circle, but what they only a government that doesn’t adhere to the do to get that money, and the bad policy that rule of law. results. Think about it: Could Britain or Canada Normally, policy reflects some curry favor with the incoming administration combination of practicality — what works? — by waiving regulations to promote Trump and ideology — what fits my preconceptions? golf courses or directing business to And our usual complaint is that ideology all Trump hotels? No — those nations have too often overrules the evidence. free presses, independent courts, and rules But now we’re going to see a third factor designed to prevent exactly that kind of powerfully at work: What policies can improper behavior. On the other hand, officials, very much including the man at the someplace like Vladimir Putin’s Russia can top, personally monetize? And the effect will easily funnel vast sums to the man at the top be disastrous. in return for, say, the withdrawal of security Let’s start relatively small, with the choice guarantees for the Baltic states. of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. DeVos One would like to hope that national has some obvious affinities with Trump: Her security officials are explaining to Trump just husband is an heir to the fortune created by how destructive it would be to let business Amway, a company that has been accused of considerations drive foreign policy. But being a fraudulent scheme and, in 2011, paid reports say that Trump has barely met with $150 million to settle a class-action suit. But those officials, refusing to get the briefings what’s really striking is her signature issue, that are normal for a president-elect. school vouchers, in which parents are given So how bad will the effects of Trump-era money rather than having their children corruption be? The best guess is, worse than receive a public education. you can possibly imagine. At this point there’s a lot of evidence on ■ how well school vouchers actually work, Paul Krugman joined The New York and it’s basically damning. For example, Times in 1999 as a columnist on the Louisiana’s extensive voucher plan Op-Ed Page and continues as professor unambiguously reduced student achievement. of Economics and International Affairs at But voucher advocates won’t take no for Princeton University. What kind of regime can buy influence by enriching the president and his friends? The answer is, only a government that doesn’t adhere to the rule of law. Culture corner crutinizing a remote cornfield for clues to where in the world it is located presents the ultimate challenge for geography buffs in the online game Geoguessr. The game virtually drops players into a random image on Google Street View and asks them to figure out where in the world they are. Google is allowed, as are translation apps and any other resource a player can think of. When a player thinks they know where they are, or when the timer is about to run out, they drop a pin on a world map. Points are awarded based on how close the digital pin is to the actual real-world location. Sometimes, the answer is easy, as a quick look around a city street reveals several business and street names. Other times players spend two minutes scrolling down a lonely rural road looking for signs before desperately Googling “purple flowers S along mountain road” and dropping a last-minute pin somewhere in the middle of Canada. It’s always a little embarrassing if it turns out the road was actually in Russia. The game comes in an untimed single player mode or timed two-player challenge mode. Playing in challenge mode with a friend in the same room or connected to Skype is the best way to play. It gives the opportunity to laugh about how far off you both were, or do a little bragging about your sleuthing skills when your challenger asks how in the world you figured out the location was in France. The game is also educational — the more you play, the more you begin to recognize the distinctive guard rails, traffic signs and road striping patterns of various countries. To play Geoguessr, create a login at www.geoguessr.com. — Jade McDowell is a reporter for the East Oregonian. LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
