Media and Mobs

Last week, the Netflix series of A Series of Unfortunate Events aired.

I like A Series of Unfortunate Events. It’s an interesting story… my siblings and I once made a truly awful movie version of it…and it taught me a lot about the world. What else could you want in a book series?

In fact, watching the Netflix version reminded me of the two most important lessons that I learned from the books. I think these lessons are a) very applicable to today’s world but b) seldom remembered.

Lesson #1: The media don’t always tell the truth.

(Yes, today I’m going with the old-fashioned use of “media” as plural instead of the colloquial use of “media” as singular. Because pretentious.)

Sometimes the media lie to us intentionally.

Sometimes the media lie to us out of ignorance and incompetence.

Sometimes the media lie to us because they’re unaware of their own bias.

I am in favor of impartial press that reports only on the facts but sadly, it seems that doesn’t happen much. Every news outlet has a bias, a political position that it’s pushing. Because of this, each outlet tends to report more often and more accurately on news stories that further the narrative it believes. Even if you’re aware of your bias and want to get rid of it, it’s practically impossible to do so…at least according to some reading assignments during college. But hey, those were probably biased, too.

In short, any time you choose to believe a news source, you’re taking a leap of faith. Am I wrong in believing that you (and I) are more willing to take leaps of faith for news sources whose narratives align with your (or my) personal values? I suspect that I’m not wrong. Perhaps what we take from the media has more to do with us than with actual truth.

I’m not saying that all news outlets are totally useless…but I am saying that they should be taken with a grain, nay, with a shakerful of salt.

Lesson #2: Beware of mobs.

There’s a recurring theme in A Series of Unfortunate Events: Anything yelled loudly enough in a crowd of people will suddenly seem like a good idea to said crowd of people. Thus, mobs are born.

While physical mobs still happen today, a more rampant form of mobs is Internet mobs. Large crowds of people gather on social media to rant and rave, expressing views that are often inaccurate (fed by the media), or that are extremely disproportionate to the event that caused ire, or both.

The problem with mobs is that a) collectively, they tend to lack common sense, b) they’re practically unstoppable due to sheer numbers, and c) they often resort to violence rather quickly. Sure, mobs that make death threats online often lack the teeth to carry them out, but that doesn’t undermine the fact that throughout history, physical mobs have lynched, tarred and feathered, beaten, and shot people simply because they felt like it. Internet mobs would take longer to reach that peak, but I don't doubt they can get there eventually.

Avoid mobs…and avoid being part of mobs. Don’t get swept into the excitement of a bunch of people posting in angry solidarity on Facebook. Think carefully and rationally before you throw your lot in with anyone.

Please understand that by publishing this post today, I’m not targeting any political group or movement. This is just a general warning about some trends that I’ve seen in recent years…trends that I became aware of by reading an excellent book series.