Many years ago I was working in a professional, public service capacity and a newspaper columnist took issue with some of my work. He was against a certain policy I was supporting and, as a newspaper columnist, he published his opinions and never checked the facts with me. As a result, while I was never actually named, I was essentially slandered without recourse. I wrote a rebuttal, but it was too late. Who reads a rebuttal days later?

We are in much the same place today; say something first and it must be true. There’s no need to provide evidence or support. If it is said loud enough, some people will believe it. It doesn’t have to be true, or even any part of it. Just say it and it must be so.

I don’t know if this is a failure of the public education system to teach evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking, the desperation some people are feeling, the easiness of just going along, or downright ignorance, but here we are.

So I implore people not to accept information from just one source. Do the research across many platforms, check the facts and the fact checkers, use common sense, look at what might be behind the statement, and follow the money.

The more outlandish things someone says, the more airtime they get.

Tom Keller
Newcastle