Beware of Gaslighters and Their Tactics
Fact-checking is a modern example of gaslighting. Recently, I released a 4-part series of articles titled “The Tyrants of Facebook.” The series consists of an introductory article and three subsequent essays. In it, I recount Facebook’s attempts to gaslight me. I report in the final essay that Facebook has put me on restriction, relegating my posts to extremely limited exposure. I was surprised my posts hadn’t already been consigned to having extremely limited exposure! Why was FB doing this? It claims I had “repeatedly shared false information.” Is FB trying to make me out to be a serial liar? One is made to wonder; but take note: Some of the incidents FB cited against me truly were laughable. You can read about them here.
Recently, John Stossel sued FB for defamation. Mr. Stossell explains his rationale for filing the suit in the video embedded in this article. In a court filing related to the case, FB admitted that its fact-checkers cite opinions, not facts. In a report on this admission posted at the website of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, Anthony Watts writes, “This strikes me as public relations disaster, and possibly a looming legal disaster for Facebook, PolitiFact, Climate Feedback, and other left-leaning entities that engage in biased ‘fact-checking.'”
One cannot help but hope it really does become a disaster for these entities on multiple fronts. This can only be good news for conservatives. Gaslighting in the name of fact-checking has gone on far too long!
Unfortunately, these kinds of manipulative tactics have become “business as usual” for many evangelical leaders, including those in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Next: Russell Moore
Related article: Journalists Have Become Hoaxers
This page is part of a larger Word Foundations article.
photo credit: John Stossel
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