1. "The tragedy of the Indian media: a short story in 10 tweets."
In 2008 one of my colleagues arrived back at her house to find her maid missing.
After a bit of searching she found the maid sitting in the park, with the dog, enjoying the afternoon.
In 2008 one of my colleagues arrived back at her house to find her maid missing.
After a bit of searching she found the maid sitting in the park, with the dog, enjoying the afternoon.
2. When my colleague asked what was happening, the maid replied, "But didi, the world is going to end, so I thought I might as well sit outside."
Puzzled, my colleague asked why she thought the world might end.
"They said so on TV," the maid replied.
Puzzled, my colleague asked why she thought the world might end.
"They said so on TV," the maid replied.
3. It turns out that the TV channels, supposedly news, were reporting on the test runs of the Large Hadron Collider.
There had been some speculation that the collission of particles in the LHC could create tiny black holes.
There had been some speculation that the collission of particles in the LHC could create tiny black holes.
4. The TV "news" channels had run with this until the "story" was about black holes, with their intense gravitational fields.
None of them specified that anything due to the LHC would be infinitesimal and last for no time at all.
None of them specified that anything due to the LHC would be infinitesimal and last for no time at all.
5. My colleague explained that it was all nonsense.
"But if it wasn't true it wouldn't be on TV, would it?" the maid asked. She was genuinely asking.
She had assessed the news that she was given, and had taken the most sensible decision.
Better to spend time in the park.
"But if it wasn't true it wouldn't be on TV, would it?" the maid asked. She was genuinely asking.
She had assessed the news that she was given, and had taken the most sensible decision.
Better to spend time in the park.
6. A steady diet of misinformation can deeply undermine the decisionmaking of a populace.
In his great book on the Balkans War, "Love Thy Neighbour", @maassp writes about how Milosevic's total control of news reduced the population to hysteria and fear.
In his great book on the Balkans War, "Love Thy Neighbour", @maassp writes about how Milosevic's total control of news reduced the population to hysteria and fear.
7. When we live in a country like ours, where the primary means of news consumption is TV, and almost all the TV stations broadcast a steady stream of lies - about the economy, about terrorism, about our great status in the world - how can citizens be expected to assess?
8. I see too many people blame average Indian for believing the nonsense our government feeds us, but how well informed can they be?
To expect rational decisionmaking in this atmosphere requires significant effort and research.
It is an unreasonable demand.
To expect rational decisionmaking in this atmosphere requires significant effort and research.
It is an unreasonable demand.
9. Too many people are barely getting by.
They cannot be asked to invest so much effort, and they should not be judged on their inability to do so.
The only silver lining I see is that regimes dependent on such lies often fall, like in Eastern Europe.
"The truth will out".
They cannot be asked to invest so much effort, and they should not be judged on their inability to do so.
The only silver lining I see is that regimes dependent on such lies often fall, like in Eastern Europe.
"The truth will out".
10. Of course this comes with huge negative consequences as the reality of a faltering economy as well as a broken and corrupt political system presents itself.
I hope this does not happen to us.
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I hope this does not happen to us.
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