Fake Reality

Fake news in the real meaning of the word, i.e. fabricated stories having at most a weak connection to reality, being told to make money or promote an agenda, have changed the world in terms of how debates work. Not long ago, a discussion about a problem could go like this:

"We're out of hot water. Again."
"Yeah, I noticed. You take too long showers. Or too hot."
"Actually, I think our neighbor may be the culprit."
"Are we sharing our hot water with him?"
"I think so. The pipe seems to go through the wall here."
"Hmm. We should ask the landlord about this."
"Or a plumber. The landlord probably won't be honest with us."
"But a plumber will cost us. Let's ask the landlord first."
"Okay. But if the landlord dodges the question, I'm calling a plumber."

Statement of fact. Acknowledgment. Attempts at explanation. Alternate suggestion. Inference from evidence. Proposed solution. Alternative ideas. Discussion. Compromise. Agreement. Action. Suggest a Plan B if the action fails. This is an example of problem solving by constructive debate.

Injecting the equivalent of fake news into the conversation, the exchange instead takes a bizarre turn:

"We're out of hot water. Again."
"No, we're not."
"What? Feel this. It's freezing."
"Why? Because you say so?"
"No, because It's a fact. Here, feel it."
"That's your opinion. I disagree."
"Fine. Then take a shower. I dare you."
"I don't need a shower."
"You were waiting outside the bathroom in a bath robe."
"I don't see how that is relevant."
"So you're just going to stand there? In your bath robe?"
"I might. What do you care?"

Statement of fact. Rejection of fact. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. Resignation. Stall. With one party rejecting the objective reality and denying the problem, even denying that the other party sees a problem, no solution will ever be found, and the conversation can go on forever without getting anywhere. The cold shower of reality which could expose the lies never happens, because the theory that ignores the facts is deliberately withheld from verification.

Treating truth and facts as opinions which you can reject and argue about is terminally destructive to any kind of discussion. Deflection, spin and obvious lies create disrespect for the opposing view and invite to insults. Society will be more stupid because of this, and we will all lose in the long run.