How long have you been collecting information ‘free off the internet’, and thinking you were informed? How many times have you lost hours doom-scrolling, only to sit up in frustration and realize you don’t know anything more than you did when you started? In fact, you might even know less. If your currently installed misinformation has been overwritten with disinfo, you will end up with something worse than gaps in your understanding. Let’s make sure we’re on the same page:
Misinformation is inaccurate or misleading information, which may or may not be intentionally wrong, but after consuming it you won’t correctly understand that thing.
Disinformation is false information that deliberately distorts or omits facts with the intention to mislead. Consuming it will damage your current understanding, or prevent you from understanding that thing.
The internet is overflowing with people who are paid to generate misinfo and disinfo, and engage in all sorts of manipulative tactics that put you in a state of confusion or anger, or get you involved in disputes that cannot be resolved and rob you of your time. You will find them on all the major platforms, and the interaction becomes exhausting. Not only will you never get the straight truth about anything, you also won’t know who you could possibly trust for help.
The solution to this situation is to end your addiction to feeds and return to private curated websites. Once you are on private territory, you can build a community, learn how to remove paid actors and cointel interference, and collaborate with real people who can help you get out of the wilderness of ignornace. Bear in mind though – real people with the knowledge that can help you are not a free pdf download. They don’t want to be used and mistreated, so you will have to get serious about your committment to learn, and acquire some people skills if you want to move forward.
As more people create healthy discussion groups, it will be possible to negotiate with other sites and establish a new kind of citizenship that is capable of cooperating and rebuilding trust. It won’t be easy at first, but it must be done. Our group at the Dark Harbor forum has been operating since 2022. Perhaps we will hear about your community in the future?
