Are you a truth seeker?
Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency. Inflation is on the rise. More storms are on the horizon due to climate change. Critical Race Theory (CRT) harms school children.
Today, as it has been In the past several years, swarms of disinformation bombard citizens to sow discord and division for various political reasons based on personal agendas.
During the height of the pandemic, we also went through an infodemic, the spread of unreliable information about the deadly Covid-19 virus. Many people didn’t know who or what to believe. Some of the bad information that determines whether people do or don’t follow the CDC guidelines lingers on today.
We’re in an age of disinformation and misinformation, and disseminating both is not without consequences.
Although there’s only one letter difference between the two words, sometimes it isn’t easy to distinguish between the two.
One may ask why we need to know the difference between these lies or falsities. Who cares about why people lie or their intent; it doesn’t change the lie one iota, or does it?
Maybe the answer lies in the single-letter difference between the two words.
Misinformation – means bad, wrong, or incorrect information. Other similar words include misleading, mischief, miscreant, and misnomer.
Disinformation – is the dismissal or disregard for the truth. There is dishonesty or a lack of honesty.
Since both misinformation and disinformation are untruths, the intent relative to the words reveals the big picture.
There’s a difference between willfully and unwittingly misleading or telling someone incorrect information.
Unwitting misinformation
Suppose you send out an email with the wrong date and time for a company event. Naturally, you will send a corrected email apologizing for the misinformation.
This is your bad. Who doesn’t and can’t make an honest mistake?
Deliberately or willfully misinforming others
People have many motives for intentionally spreading false information, especially personal and political reasons. It’s disinformation if the information on the cited company email is sent to deceive or mislead email recipients.
Are alternative facts misinformation or disinformation?
Dictionary.com includes the words alternative facts as slang. Are there alternatives to facts? Sure, there are lies or untruths.
Like faux leather, alternative facts are phony, bogus, or fake. We wear faux leather shoes, dresses, pants, and other clothing, knowing they are not natural or genuine leather. Leather is processed skin of real animals; faux leather is a synthetic material and not a natural product from an animal.
Alternative facts are falsehoods, untruths, or deceptions, and the opposite of the truths. Contrarily, facts are the DNA, finger, and footprints of the truth. Finding the truth depends on traceable facts. Like truth, there are no alternatives if you want and search for facts.
An alternative or option to facts would be the opposite of reality which include fantasy, fiction, or alternative facts.
People always have the option to believe or doubt the facts about a thing or circumstance, but to contrive something that sounds like and looks similar to the truth isn’t the real McCoy.
Can we clone the truth?
Faux diamonds have natural diamonds’ chemical and physical properties, but they are not the real McCoy.
The truth and facts are relevant in every aspect of our lives.
Asking me to believe what someone says when the facts and truths reveal differently is like asking me to see with my feet.
People’s actions align with their authentic, not fake, character.
“Character is far more important than intellect in making a man a good citizen or successful at his calling – meaning by character not only such qualities as honesty and truthfulness, but courage, perseverance, and self-reliance.” Theodore Roosevelt
Christians are truth seekers, tellers, and believers.
Be well.