EP 08: Media: Where “Truth” Meets Human Nature

Our natural tendency is to trust the source that is clear and consistent, and find comfort in that trust. (This, by the way, is why authoritarianism is on the rise globally.)

Has there ever really been such a thing as a reliable news source?

The absence of clear communication–or even, it seems, any kind of strategy–is now frequently cited as the biggest failure and missed opportunity of the pandemic response, in the US and around the world.

That lack, along with the absolute explosion of misinformation on social media–to the point that for many, it’s nearly indistinguishable from facts–has me thinking about the media.

What do we even mean when we say “the media?”

And why do we choose one news or information source over another?

If there are no reliable news sources, whose version of events do we trust?

RESOURCES

IN THIS EPISODE

How even “reliable” news sources have always had a bias
What we should be asking for from our news sources
Why we latch onto sources that are clear and consistent, even if their ideas and versions of events aren’t actually trustworthy
Questions to consider for changing your relationship with media and information sources