By Macford Sibandze | 2019-05-22
This ‘breaking news’ and a series of others were splashed all over Facebook and other social media platforms.
The way the story was scribbled, on a denotative level, contained some segments of truth, though on a connotative level, one could see that it was gibberish and at worse balderdash!
But such stories could not be easily dismissed, especially in the rush hour traffic of elections, where the lines between truth, half-truth, lies and fiction are blurred!
In elections time the atmosphere radiates the kind of energy where fact and fake become identical twins!
By now you know I am alive and kicking because, though my birth did not make headlines, my (real) death will do so!
My social media ‘death’ was just a dirty game of small time politics by prime evil disloyal elements of our society! Because death is not a funny joke even by comedian Dr. Shakes’ standards! This form of tidbit stories is called FAKE NEWS and it is the new news and has a great captive audience out there!
FAKE NEWS has colonised the public media space and our lack of analysis has given it impetus! We have given it wings to fly; fertile ground to germinate.
GULLIBLE
As active consumers of the media, we have become gullible and there’s no clear answer why we get hoodwinked so easily! Is the hook too strong in the bait or it is just a new definition of us! That we have become like dolly children who receive everything without asking! Perhaps, a more academic study on mental faculties can provide answers to the burning questions to this social dichotomy.
And if for once you think FAKE NEWS affect those who have not seen the four walls of college, then you reside in dreamland! The thing is, this prank hits hard right in the core of those who wear academic gowns.
The gossip manufacturing companies spare no one and seemingly no one is safe! Look, somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, in the most sophisticated country on earth, ‘FAKE NEWS’ of a president who was bussed into the Oval House by the Russian Mafia still do the rounds three years later!
BLAME
But why blame the public for such vulnerability? Do they really deserve the punches; I mean pointing damning fingers to them when they are played out by the best players in the sporting arena! Look at how ‘accurate news’ is on April 1, in the so-called April Fool; April ‘Full’ of lies! On the official global day of FAKE NEWS, seasoned scribes put their noses to the horns and write ‘authentic’ news stories with a degree of proficiency! It is on the next day, when they inform you, which they seldom do anyway, that you realise that it was FAKE NEWS! And then how do you go about condemning the public for buying into the hoax meal prepared and served by adept and skilful chefs!
DRIVERS OF FAKE NEWS
Making sense of this article paints a gloomy picture of who seats at the steering wheel of FAKE NEWS. You observed right! It is not nincompoops, buffoons or born again thugs! Nada! These are sage; knowledgeable professionals trained in many fields such communication, public relations, politics, law, philosophy, psychology, etc.
Hence the menu served does not only leave a good taste in the mouth but make you shout for encore. (You want some more) Why? Because it is palatable and believable! What is interesting is that FAKE NEWS did not all of a sudden came to town riding on a blue donkey! Not at all! FAKE NEWS has always resided in our communities, maybe it’s a change of terminology!
CONVENIENCE
FAKE NEWS has always been conveniently used by all; politicians, prophets, witch doctors, guerilla movements, trade unions, etc. With all its devastating repercussions from a negative point of view, where it is used for malice, FAKE NEWS, from a positive angle is used to accumulate power! Legendary African Prophet, Mzee Matata had a blue print; a master plan with a well-oiled propaganda machine! He could even fly, so says his agents who had a simple job description; with simple deliverables; sell the state line! Just lie even when you ‘lie’ down! It worked magic, so was Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Slobodan Milosevic! However, horrible as it is, this FAKE NEWS is a political strategy to stay in power not as destructive as when lies are cooked and delivered as truth just like the scenario in my opening sequence! And this pandemic is prevalent today.
LIGHTNING SPEED
It takes advantage of the lightning speed of the information highway! Just one tweet in twitter more than one billion pair of eyes see it and the razzmatazz begin! Every Dick (why Dick?) and Harry has a field day!
All of a sudden everyone becomes smart and has an intelligent opinion about the subject! With no receipt of intellectual property payment, the rumor mongers buy the right to your privacy and throw hard bricks and stones at you! In bars, churches, funerals, night vigils, salons, markets, etc you become a horribly written Grade 8 B English Composition! Poor Grammar, Poor punctuations, twisted ends, distortions and disruptions become the order of the day!
STRONG
Life has never been for the feint hearted. If you have jelly knees just one paragraph of FAKE NEWS will bury you in a shallow grave! I know of one person who locked himself up for three months after FAKE NEWS about him were published in social media platforms! Does this ease the pain? No! You are just inviting depression!
How many times will you lock yourself because we are living in the cold world of vicious vultures?
While others are planning about promotions, many more are planning demotions! In this world there are many forces of subjugation lurking in the dark!
So be strong and wear bullet proof vest against depraved ferocities!
The question is why you? Maybe the best question is why NOT you? The answer is; you matter, you are newsworthy, you are successful, affluent and noticeable!
Perhaps you are a shining star thus cyber bullies want to dim your light! Another question; will FAKE NEWS go to hell where it belongs? Nada! It is our new diet! Unless maybe we catch one and surgically castrate him! And this is just a ‘May Be.’
And from where I sit no one is immune from FAKE NEWS, even God Himself and His only son Jesus H. Christ! So if haters can take a long swipe at God…..why worry…..be strong …..Strength weakens hostilities!
NB: For the next few months I will make commentary on any issue of my interest! Since its not an academic paper I will employ a lot of humor (typical Macford) in my articles. Enjoy THE SECOND COMING every Wednesday.
Editor: The Manzini North MP writes this column in his personal capacity and the views he express herein don’t represent his constituency or Parliament.
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