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Kerry: People can't tell 'what's real and what isn't'
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
 lamented Friday that technology has allowed the quick spread of false information to the point that people are struggling to "know what's real and what isn't."

"This is one of our chief challenges today, is to manage information and to do it in a way that average folks at home can know what's real and what isn't, what's true, what's false, and try to build consensus around a common set of understandings," Kerry said during the Mediterranean Dialogues Conference in Rome. "Technology has brought the world closer, yes; but it's also enabled bigots and demagogues to spread messages of divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
ness and hate with the click of a button, with the push of a finger."
Have 'em post it on Rantburg -- our people quickly clarify whether something is fact or fiction.
That focus on misinformation was apparent whether he was talking about the risk of jihadist recruiters propagandizing young Moslems or pushing back against the trade skepticism now regnant in the United States. "Now, none of us should have any illusion about the challenges that we face. They are real, and frankly, they require our collective courage," Kerry continued. "And, I might add, they require all of those things based on truth."

He offered counterarguments to such ideas throughout his talk, beginning with the problem of terrorist propaganda. Kerry argued, contrary to jihadists, that all the great religions of the Mediterranean world share a common set of ethics.


Posted by: Fred 2016-12-03
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=474727