DISINFORMATION, MISINFORMATION

DISINFORMATION, MISINFORMATION

What causes poverty?

Is it hereditary? Can it be solved?

I won't argue about how economic policies and programs play a big part in solving poverty. However, I would like to focus on the subject of information.

We always say, let us make an informed choice. This means that when we think, act or react emotionally, our behavior stems from a good basis – that of having all the information on hand. For example, when a woman decides to use contraceptives, then she has all the information about how it affects her body, how long and how often she has to take it, how her partner would be able to take it, as well as the why of it – why having too many mouths to feed is bad for the health, and not only because it is costly and it is impossible to give equal love to all the children, etc.

There is also a kind of information or shall I say disinformation which is bad for anyone. Being informed that a certain chemical adhesive is good when in reality smelling it while in the process of using it could produce headaches and possible poisoning is being anti-human. The consumers are made to accept the labels on the product but because it is in English, and is imported, they could be swallowing information that could lead later on to dire consequences for them. That is a form of disinformation wherein the manufacturer withholds certain information just so they could profit from the sale of the product.

Withholding information is also when a company ceases to share information about their real financial state. So that stockholders are made to think that it is doing a lot of good.

In the educational sector, disinformation is when a school scrimps on reading materials that could broaden the minds of the students and/or its constituents. Thus the students read books that were bought many decades ago thus containing old facts and opinions , or the authors of which are not top in the fields that they are studying, or even the faculty of the school do not update themselves anymore on the subject matter that they are teaching. So the students/constituents are disinformed, so to speak

Of course, we know that misinformation is when we are given the wrong facts and figures about a subject matter, about a person/s supposedly in authority, or even a political candidate presents himself or herself as a capable and morally upright person worthy of being voted upon yet in reality has only so much money to buy newspaper syndicates to write about him or her.

Now that we are in this important election period where we will choose the president and vice-president who will lead us through 6 years, let us make sure that our information are enough, true and valid before checking the names of our chosen candidates in the ballot.