Recently Pope Francis spoke about the phenomenon of fake news. He said that its finds its roots in the Garden of Eden. This is a powerful statement in his aligning fake news (propaganda) as rooted in the fall of humanity in Eden.
Fake news is not a new thing. From the lies and misinformation first used to tricked humanity into turning against God down through ages with the widespread use of propaganda to perpetuate a lie so as to garner power, fake news and its antecedents have long been the favored tool of tyrants to spread lies so as to manipulate populations.
The Father of Lies
All misinformation and deceit has a satanic source. It is not without reason that bearing false witness finds itself as a topic in the Ten Commandments. Bearing false witness/lying breeds confusion deliberately. Starting with the lie told to Adam and Eve, that God did not want what was good for them, in sowing confusion, so that Satan could more easily turn humanity against God, lies have been sown so as to create chaos and confusion. Make no mistake, fake news is a tool for those who wish to divide.
Why does the devil want to divide? The devil is THE anti-Christ, he is the opposite of Christ and His mission. If Christ came that we might be one (John 17:20-21), then the natural goal of the devil is going to be to sow as much division as possible. He preys on fear. To gin up fear, he will utilize lies to create and sustain a atmosphere of mistrust. If the devil can get us to see each other as the enemy or as suspect, then he has an ample field to work with.
Us versus Them
The devil has been very successful in his endeavor. He has managed to split humanity into so many factions, that we can scarcely cooperate for even those things that effects us all. No matter how mind-numbingly idiotic the division is, people can be found to nurture and sustain it. Propaganda has been used by those who have given themselves first and foremost to the most base and evil things of this world to keep power. They are able to tap into a very base part of fallen humanity; fear of the other.
Fake news is a buffet meant to sustain the lie. It is a buffet of tasty tidbits. It is full of salacious gossip, misinterpreted speculation, and glee at another's errors. Ultimately though, the buffet is thoroughly poisoned. The more the buffet is eaten from, the more the immunity is broken down. The immunity in question is the that part of our mind and soul that can aptly distinguish between lies and truths. How on earth, though, can you make a person willingly eat of such a poisoned menu?
Simple. Wrap the entire menu in a dose of subjectivity; convince the person that they and those who think like them are always right and those who don't now are always wrong. Deal in absolutes about people. Reduce people to their being either this or that, but not both. Inflate the pride of the individual to the point that any deviation from their subjective definitions of good and evil must be dealt with in a scorched earth manner. With the disease sufficiently spread, the immune system of mercy, reason, and forgiveness is defeated. Hence the fake news is eaten and spread with an unquenchable fury.
The A Priori World of Fake News
Having set groups against each other, it is then easy to set an a priori base that any and all things that the 'other' does must be evil. Any good that might be done by the 'other' is simply waved away in lieu of it not fitting the predetermined narrative. The good done by the 'other' is dangerous to the a priori narrative pushed by fake news. Instead of treating individuals as individuals, we treat them as parts of enemy groups.
That is the end goal. Once any person can successfully marginalize a group, then that person can do anything to that group as they have dehumanized them. This is the tool of tyrants. This is the tool for those who have sought to eliminate entire segments of the population. If I can get you to hate a group, I can get you to turn a blind eye or even get you to join in any evil that I might have planned.
Let's be honest, though. No one can sell what no one wants to buy. Because humanity is fallen, because we suffer from the effects of Original Sin, because we struggle with concupiscence, and because we can want the easy path, we are all too ready to have groups defined as those to be liked and those to be hated. It feeds into our darker selves.
Feeding an Appetite
Humanity struggles with this darker self. The devil knows this. God knows this. Tyrants know this. They know we have dispositions towards envy, wrath, gluttony, and greed. We can be tempted to see the success of the other as detrimental to our own success. We can suppose the worst motivations on those who hurt us or disagree with us. We can see another's belongings as taking away from what I should have. All of these require as a prerequisite a egotistical pride that measures all things by how it effects me.
Fake news works and is so widespread by virtue of 24/7 media and social media because so many of us want to believe the absolute worst about others. We want to bolster our identity by tearing down the identity of others. Furthermore, lacking the work ethic to do this on an individual basis, we merely put whole groups into camps and assign them common beliefs. This, my friends, is identity politics.
Why It Is a Lie
The narrative falls apart if we choose to examine it with any depth. First, the human person is complex. Good and evil motivations can and do exist in the same person. Because we presume the ability to grow, develop, and change, simply treating a person as a stagnant agent, though convenient for a narrative, is simply not true. Fake news is designed to force people into a pigeon hole where they consistently stay. It stymies conversion because it does not desire conversion. However, with most people, given the tools to do so, conversion to the good is possible.
However, we resist this because the conversion of another might well beg the question why we don't change to the better. I can justify my own hates, biases, and prejudices only so long as the 'other' remains a constant. When the 'other' changes, it necessitates my own change of how I look at them. More threatening is the thought if the 'other' might not be always evil and wrong, then is my side always right and good? Better for most to wallow in a comforting lie than to face an uncomfortable truth.
Looking Beyond the Label
Truth leads us to see people as unique individuals. Jesus does this. Instead of summarily dismissing other groups than that to which He culturally belonged, He saw past the categories (Samaritans, Romans, Lepers...) and looked to bringing out the good in them through a restoration of relationship. To be sure, not all accepted such a generous offer, but the offer is made based on an ability to see in the most sordid of sinners something worth saving and redeeming. Jesus did not overlook the evil men do, but He did know they were capable of better with the help of His grace.
Hence, we must, as a matter of virtuous discipline, not indulge in the tawdry delight of fake news. It is not merely beneath our collective humanity, but directly goes against the heart of the Christian Mission. If our starting point is to presume a person evil, it will be hard to see anything as salvageable in them. This requires a basic disposition that the role of the entirety of creation is to sate me. Nothing fuels the taste for fake news like a selfish heart.
We were made for better. Fake news cheapens the person of the person who spreads it.
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