Fake News: Knowledge Is Power With the election of Donald Trump, it seems that power might come from the absence of knowledge. As Barton points out, fake news was once a fringe effect but has now become a "a strategy for consolidating executive power," (1). Anti-intellectualism and the dumbing down of American, which Richard Hofstadter describes...
Fake News: Knowledge Is Power With the election of Donald Trump, it seems that power might come from the absence of knowledge. As Barton points out, fake news was once a fringe effect but has now become a "a strategy for consolidating executive power," (1).
Anti-intellectualism and the dumbing down of American, which Richard Hofstadter describes in his 1964 Pulitzer Prize-winning book Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, highlights the problem of when a lack of knowledge becomes the key to political power when in fact knowledge should be the key to power given the potency of truth in eliminating superstition, bigotry, and misinformation. As problematic and troubling as the anti-science agenda of Trump presidency might be, the only way to take back power from demagogues and anti-intellectuals is through an affirmation and promotion of knowledge.
As Swinton points out, "We have the power to kick fake news to the side and bring knowledge to the forefront again. We just have to utilize it." Knowledge is power for the individual and for the society. For individuals, knowledge constitutes real power in helping with self-determination, empowerment, and reaching personal goals. The connection between knowledge and power makes itself known even in the most mundane circumstances.
A person who is armed with knowledge about a company is more likely to impress an interviewer with that knowledge and receive a job offer. Knowledge of a partner's illicit affair empowers the person to extricate themselves from the relationship or choose to forgive. Self-awareness is also a distinct type of power that enhances one's psychological health and encourages wellbeing through control over one's irrational thoughts and emotions.
Social media has an ironic and complex influence on the creation and dissemination of knowledge via the spreading of fake news. Interestingly, the proliferation of fake news can inspire citizens to become more media literate. The results of the 2016 presidential election in the United States are partly blamed on a lack of knowledge generated by social media and the spreading of propaganda through digital channels (Alcott and Gentzkow). To combat fake news, those who possess knowledge have the power to spread truth and accurate information, facts and data.
However, power is only effective if it is used to combat misinformation and "alternative facts." The real application of the knowledge-power connection is in the realm of public life, where knowledge needs to become normative again to combat the dumbing down of America. America is less powerful when it denigrates science, celebrates superstition, and denies the efficacy of academic inquiry.
Knowledge did unfortunately lead to the rise of President Trump and the empowerment of a cohort of anti-intellectual Americans but that does not mean that knowledge is not powerful; it just means that the powerful do not always possess knowledge. To reclaim power, one must reclaim knowledge first on the personal level and then by wielding that power in the public sphere. Wielding power in the public sphere can mean participating in media literacy movements and pointing out which sources of knowledge are credible or not.
For both individual and collective empowerment, knowledge is crucial for exposing reality and correcting misinformation. Human progress has been a series of unveilings of truth, leading to backlash and criticisms. From Socrates's poisoning due to his.
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