Disinformation is either intentional distortion or telling lies. The
intent behind disinfo is negative. The intent is to
limit access to accurate information.
Sign #1
Propagandizing
(Look For: Emotionalization, Oversimplification, & Slogans)
When propaganda isn’t spotted for what it is, look out; done well, it will convey certainty and will echo the clarity of a truly wise being. Propaganda is information that is spread for the purpose of [b]promoting a cause[ /b]. Of course, because information is propagandist doesn’t mean that it’s untrue,
but it does mean that there is an agenda—and agendas create a win/lose situation.
Sign #2
Poor Logic
(Look For: Inconsistency & Logical Fallacy)
So look for inconsistencies. That’s where you’ll find the distortions and lies. And keep an eye out for fallacious reasoning. Logical fallacies are deliberately employed by disinfo artists because they play upon common weaknesses.
Wherever there are constellations of logical fallacies, many of them grouped together, beware. It takes a lot of mental work to imbed red herrings and set up straw man arguments. Obviously, a person could do that subconsciously in an attempt to justify his or her belief system, but it could also imply that there’s intentional distortion.
Sign #3
Falsehoods
(Look For: Lies, Omissions, & Distortions)
Yes, this sign is self-evident; but I bring it up because it’s all too easy to rationalize away a blatant inconsistency or lie in the face of other information that gets you good results and checks out logically and intuitively. But living according to a belief system with a glaring lie in it is like continuing to eat a sandwich with moldy cheese because the meat and bread are still fresh.
Sign #4
Consistently Extreme Point-of-View
(Look For: Forcefulness)
By extreme point-of-view I mostly mean views that are judgmental or condemning. In American politics, this sign takes the forms of liberal-bashing or Bush-bashing. In the spiritual circle, an example is the fundamental Scientologist’s take on drugs and psychology, or even the fundamental Buddhist’s take on eating meat. An Always or Never-type of extremism creates categories of good and evil based upon memorized lists instead of being based upon the work of discernment. It may be technically true that eating meat lowers the soul’s vibration, but ask yourself, is it never useful to lower it?
Extreme views very often reflect or lead to bad logic. In the case of the fundamental Scientologist I’ve heard “All psychology’s bad.” Certainly some psychology is bad, but saying “all” is bad logic. It’s hasty generalization. Extreme views are very often anti-intellectual or driven by moral judgment.
You may notice, too, that extreme views are often accompanied by emotional force or zeal. A quick way for determining whether you might be dealing with an extreme or unbalanced view is to determine in what way the view is being presented (With force? With calm?) Also notice if their words match their energy.
In the least, extreme views defend a position at the cost of missing the big picture.
Sign #5
Vagueness
(Look For: Verbosity Without Substance)
At best, vagueness is a sign that the material under consideration is linguistic masturbation. You can tell if this is the case by noticing the lack of practical suggestions. This type of material is mostly or all theory. At worst, vagueness is a sign that a carrot is being dangled in front of a donkey. The donkey gives the dangler a free ride, or does his work, all the while stretching for the carrot but never eats. Somewhere between these two cases, the best and worst, is the common bull**** artist or hack that energizes you but is ultimately un-filling.
I think people fall for stuff that’s vague, but clever and pretty-sounding, because it can be a palpable thrill to read it. It feels good.
Sign #6
Authoritarianism
(Look For: Commanding Verbiage)
This is a biggie. People who’ve spent a few long years exploring alternative ideologies rarely fall for this one, but because it exploits such a common weakness of the ego (being impressed by power) even seasoned seekers fall for it.
And all it takes for the archetype to be activated is a spell of uncertainty. In a moment of confusion an authoritarian voice can feel like the voice of God solely because of its forcefulness.
Luckily though, all it takes to get free from an oppressive authority figure is to realize that
forcefulness doesn’t equal truth. Certainty doesn’t even equal truth. You can be dead certain and dead wrong.
Authoritarianism is a sign of misinfo or disinfo because spirit isn’t interested in leading—only ego.
Authoritarianism is identifiable by an abundance of commanding verbiage: ...you should, you ought to, you have to, you must… always… never…” etc. More subtle authoritarianism is revealed by definitive statements that leave no room for outside opinions. Or it’s revealed by its lack of acknowledgment of each person’s ability to get their own answers.
Sign #7
Specialness
(Look For: Holier-Than-Thou Mentality)
There isn’t much to say on this. Stuart Wilde said that there are essentially two journeys: ego to spirit or spirit to ego. The ego is all about feeling special, chosen, one-of-a-kind. And those feelings can be created through affirmation of the ego or through rejection. Sources of information that promote specialness promote destructive egoism.
Sign #8
Jargon
(Look For: Complicated Terminology)
In relation to disinfo, jargons are dangerous. They’re dangerous because they may be reinforcing false beliefs. The belief is rendered reasonable and given the appearance of legitimacy because it has a neat name. Jargons are also used to obscure the truth.
Jargon allows you an opportunity to discard anomalous experiences as [b]less meaningful than they really are.[b]
A variation of jargon is labeling. In the Mormon Church, in which I was raised, people are frequently referred to as “members” or “non-members.” Of course, the term “non-member” can be invoked with greater or lesser moralistic judgment, but by itself the term is excluding—it says “not-a-part-of-the-whole.” In Scientology you have people who are “clear” and people who are “toxic.” Certainly there are people out there who are sick, but invoking a term for it over and over again stops you from actually trying to understand the sick in their own language.
In short, jargons create judgmental Know-It-Alls.
Sign #9
Discouragement of Critical Analysis
(Look For: Insistence Upon Feeling The Truth)
Whether or not a system or teaching is “anti-intellectual” can be determined in a few ways. Hostile to hard questions? What type of learning is encouraged or is learning by a discussion of concepts? Does the belief system ignore large bodies of information that contradict its beliefs?
Another test for anti-intellectualism is the test for propaganda (see sign #1). Propaganda is meant to bypass the analytical mind by stimulating a gross emotional response and herding people into desired behaviors.
A critical frame of mind is discouraged by an overemphasis on feeling. New Age channeled texts, I have found, ask for feeling-verification a lot. It typically appears in gently authoritarian commands like this: “You are ___. You know this to be true. You feel it (...in your core, etc.)” This could be nothing more than suggestion. Books written in this mode may eventually hypnotize you into feeling what you’re being told to feel through simple repetition. As you read on and on into this type of material you may stop critically reflecting and asking yourself, “Is that really true?”
It invisibly creates an assumption that what we are now is not okay. It invisibly creates
invalidation.
If the highest level of spirit is non-judgmental, then any material spreading invalidation doesn’t come from the highest level of spirit.
I don’t pretend that this is a complete list. But I would argue that if a piece of information contains most of the above, then you’re dealing with disinfo.
An easy method for evaluating suspect information is noticing in what context a falsehood exists once you find one. Once you find one, work outwards from it. If the lie is presented in a context of propaganda, or within a constellation of logical fallacies, or with unrelentingly bellicose views, or with a lot doubletalk, or by invoking heroes, by stroking the ego, with a bunch of terminology, or by encouraging you to act before think, then it’s probably disinfo. Of course, it takes time and mental energy to notice these things. The only shortcut is intuition, but if you develop your intuition
without developing your intellectual discernment, you remain vulnerable.
No criticism
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