Last week, I received a pop-up warning about sharing a post on Facebook, related to Covid-19 news. From BBC! BBC is my preferred source of news all time. If I can't trust them, who can I then trust? I shared the post with confidence, and the topic for me was a matter of immigration, not Covid.
At Malmö University, one of the courses I studied, was Business Intelligence in year 2000, where we learned how to be critical of sources. It's this course and knowledge I used, when I wrote that part in my book "The Call for Divine Mothering", about being awake and aware of news that can exhaust us and create anxiety.
There are two ways of looking at information.
Subjective sources - A person that is referring to him/herself and his/her own experiences are often called valid, since they are sharing by experience and direct observation. However, it's tilted through the opinions, knowledge, or lack thereof, and nowadays also the goal of sharing (for example to get more followers) by that person. Nonetheless, true.
Objective sources - A news outlet that is checking facts and hopefully taking two sides in account. From the beginning, it was like an oath to the journalist, to be objective, ie not taking side for either, but just to share a situation or event. True of course.
The real dilemma lies in the goal of sharing. If the mission is to make money, followers, or have a specific cause, or person elected or removed from office, one must take this into account. Whose agenda is it? Likewise, most news outlets build their content on drama, with one or many offenders, and one or many victims. Reality is seldom so black and white, but filled with conflicts that can be tilted.
Another pitfall, is the many interpretations and copying that happens online, which then creates a secondary source. It's crucial to remember that we all are bias and we all are seldom capable to conduct a fair analysis. And the more followers, the more following that person's agenda and content, who in turn feel pressure to make it sound attractive, perhaps driving that person to copying someone less popular for its originality. It's therefore why I advocate so strongly, to share one's own personal examples and relationship lessons, since these are the most worthy of recognition and can never be copied, or even questioned. A direct experience, is what teaches us, and moves us forward, in life. Share that!