This has happened to me multiple times and there is a very easy fix. (Your settings will stay the same.) 1. At the top, click on the menu, then the little gear (settings). 2. at the bottom of the screen by the back button there is another button called reset to default, or something like that. 3. Click that button. 4. Confirm it if you have to 5. Set your settings back to what they were before. 6. DONE!
Government in the Disinformation Age.
Since 2016 I have felt that "truth" has been up to vote in the US, and tbh in other western democracies, every election. And that such has been happening for a while. That the death of the "4th estate," has left electorates unable to discern the truth, and thus be able to vote reasonably. Now, in 2020 the idea of facts and alternative facts, that the left and right have different "facts" to argue from make it near impossible for bipartisanship. There is, for example not saying anyone is this bad, no bipartisanship between individuals where one believes 2+2 =4 and the other 2+2 = fish. But nonetheless there is a spectrum here, where the wider the distance between the two sides' facts (regardless of veracity of either one) the harder bipartisanship is. It is amazing how all my life, the US has debated whether or not climate change is manmade, or whether CO2 and other Greenhouse gases contribute to the warming planet.
I see often comments on the internet that get close to this issue, but internet users, thinking that either the younger generation will either be more equipped to handle the disinformation age, or that if they can just get one thing passed it'll be all fixed, namely the
Fairness Doctrine.
The former, that younger people are more capable, is simply not a safe assumption.YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO PROPOGANDA, I AM NOT IMMUNE TO PROPOGANDA (Caps for emphasis). All humans are vulnerable, while education can help, it is still possible to fall to disinformation. Furthermore this is not a one player game, it's a two player game. Those that create the disinformation and those that receive it. The creators will adjust as receivers change. Never just rely on humans being better. Monkeys will always be Monkeys.
The latter is a step in a right direction but is both not strong enough and too vulnerable. It is an FCC rule and could easily be changed by different administration. It is inherently a system that is too vulnerable to politics. What we need is to give "truth" a hammer.
The days of the 4th estate are gone for the foreseeable future. To restore the level of trust it had appears impossible, I cannot imagine how any company (and note news agencies are private companies) could manage to generate enough trust to fight off the amount of disinformation out there. And thus I am not interested in anything having trust. What is needed is for "truth" to be able to whack anyone that attempts to hide the "truth." This of course is easier said than done. Ideally, this would be done by a new branch of government, independent of the others, but still have checks and balances. To be able to fine, and if needed, arrest and charge members for purposefully misleading the public.
This branch would not be one to act proactively, but reactively. The branch can state, for example, "Our findings indicate that greenhouse gas emissions, such as from manmade devious, cause changes in our planets global climate." Anyone who attempts to persuade the public otherwise would be at risk of being fined. Ideally this branch would be lead by true experts, technocrats, people that understand what a Z-score is and how beta-one hat is unbiased estimator of beta-one. Yet even then, I would want some level of democratic control. To be honest, i don't know how to balance this. It runs against Freedom of Speech and such needs to be reconciled.
For democracies sake, we are damned if we don't do this, and damned if we do this poorly. Without proper checks and balances such can be used maliciously. But if we don't, and allow disinformation to continue (let's hope deepfakes aren't as bad as some make them out to be), democracy will still be at risk. Even now,
People are spreading disinformation that hurts democracy, how does convincing people that president-elect cheated help democracy, assuming (and indeed knowing), that is not true?
Damned if we do, damned if we don't
