Friedman and Facts

Thomas Friedman’s latest — Global Village Idiocy — stands firm on one fact: For a significant portion of the world, the Internet spreads serious misinformation. Especially where only a small percentage of the population is hooked up to the Net, the rumors and lies that appear there — e.g., that 4,000 Israelis in NYC had advance notice of the 9/11 bombing — are taken as gospel simply because they were on the Internet.

As always, there are lots of ways to disagree with Friedman. For example, as some bloggers have pointed out, the Web is interactive and self-correcting. And the overall effect of Friedman’s article will be to fan the anti-Net flames among those who know no better. But I think we are up against a hard fact: a journalist with a track record at doing the thing that capital J’s are good at — getting their facts relatively straight — tells us that the Internet at this stage of its development is being used to spread dangerous lies that are not being self-corrected.

So, what do we do with that fact? Since I’m in no position to challenge it, I accept it. But how the Internet operates when 5% of a population have access to it is not a good indicator of what will happen when 50% or even 25% are hooked up; with 5% filtering, it’s more like the broadcast model. And while some of us have argued that, as with any technology, the Net tends towards certain values, those tendencies can certainly be over-powered by other interests. Perhaps the Internet will function in some cultures primarily as a way to reinforce prejudice and spread the lies people are eager to believe. I obviously hope not and ultimately think not. But these are facts that haven’t yet happened.

We should thank Friedman for reporting the current state of affairs in some parts of the world. We should acknowledge that he has his facts straight. And then we should look to the blogiverse for the discussion of his facts to keep us from generalizing too hastily. IMO.

Categories: Uncategorized dw