In order to curb the fake news phenomenon, we need a journalism “of peace” but “not the saccharine kind of journalism”, what is needed is a “journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines”. A “journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all”. Francis’ message for the 52nd World Day of Social Communications to be celebrated on Sunday 13 May 2018, entitled “The truth will set you free”. Fake news and journalism for peace “, is dedicated this year to the phenomenon of fake news which is virally spreading on the web, and intends to “contribute to our shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth”.
Francis notes that the term “fake news” has been the object of great discussion and debate”. An expression that has to do with “false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader. Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests.”
“The effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible. Secondly, this false but believable news is “captious”, inasmuch as it grasps people’s attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger and frustration”.
“The ability to spread such fake news – Bergoglio observes – often relies on a manipulative use of the social networks and the way they function. Untrue stories can spread so quickly that even authoritative denials fail to contain the damage”.
“The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict. Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred”.
Francis defines “praiseworthy” the efforts made to create educational programmes aimed at helping people to interpret and assess information provided by the media, and teaching them to take an active part in unmasking falsehoods, rather than unwittingly contributing to the spread of disinformation”. He also blesses “those institutional and legal initiatives aimed at developing regulations for curbing the phenomenon, to say nothing of the work being done by tech and media companies in coming up with new criteria for verifying the personal identities concealed behind millions of digital profiles”.
But this is not enough to stem the phenomenon. The Pontiff calls “for a profound and careful process of discernment” to “unmask what could be called the “snake-tactics” used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place. This was the strategy employed by the “crafty serpent”, i. e. the devil. A “sly and dangerous form of seduction that worms its way into the heart with false and alluring arguments”.
The Pope, rereading the biblical episode of Adam and Eve’s temptation, observes, “there is no such thing as harmless disinformation; on the contrary, trusting in falsehood can have dire consequences. Even a seemingly slight distortion of the truth can have dangerous effects”. “What is at stake is our greed. Fake news often goes viral, spreading so fast that it is hard to stop, not because of the sense of sharing that inspires the social media, but because it appeals to the insatiable greed so easily aroused in human beings”. The economic and manipulative aims that feed disinformation are rooted in a thirst for power, a desire to possess and enjoy, which ultimately makes us victims of something much more tragic: the deceptive power of evil that moves from one lie to another in order to rob us of our interior freedom”.
“That is why – Pope Francis explains - education for truth means teaching people how to discern, evaluate and understand our deepest desires and inclinations, lest we lose sight of what is good and yield to every temptation”.
The most radical antidote to the virus of falsehood is “purification by the truth”. The Pope recalls that in the Christian vision, “truth is not just a conceptual reality” but is the living God. Hence, Jesus can say, “I am the truth”. We discover and rediscover the truth when we experience it within ourselves in the loyalty and trustworthiness of the One who loves us. This alone can liberate us: “The truth will set you free”.
“Freedom from falsehood and the search for relationship: these two ingredients cannot be lacking if our words and gestures are to be true, authentic, and trustworthy”. To discern the truth - Bergoglio explains – we need to discern everything that encourages communion and promotes goodness from whatever instead tends to isolate, divide, and oppose”. Nor can we ever stop seeking the truth, “because falsehood can always creep in, even when we state things that are true”, “even “an impeccable argument can indeed rest on undeniable facts, but if it is used to hurt another and to discredit that person in the eyes of others, however correct it may appear, it is not truthful.
“We can recognize the truth of statements from their fruits: whether they provoke quarrels, foment division, encourage resignation; or, on the other hand, they promote informed and mature reflection leading to constructive dialogue and fruitful results”.
Therefore, the best antidotes to falsehoods are not strategies, but people: people who are not greedy but ready to listen, people who make the effort to engage in sincere dialogue so that the truth can emerge; people who are attracted by goodness and take responsibility for how they use language”.
“If responsibility is the answer to the spread of fake news, then a weighty responsibility rests on the shoulders of those whose job is to provide information, namely, journalists, the protectors of news”.
“In today’s world, theirs is, in every sense, not just a job; it is a mission”. For this reason - the Pope writes - ensuring the accuracy of sources and protecting communication are real means of promoting goodness, generating trust, and opening the way to communion and peace”.
The message concludes with the invitation to promote “a journalism of peace”. By that, the Pope does not mean “the saccharine kind of journalism that refuses to acknowledge the existence of serious problems or smacks of sentimentalism. On the contrary, I mean a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those – and they are the majority in our world – who have no voice.
A journalism less concentrated on breaking news than on exploring the underlying causes of conflicts, to promote deeper understanding and contribute to their resolution by setting in place virtuous processes. A journalism committed to pointing out alternatives to the escalation of shouting matches and verbal violence.
The conclusion is a rewriting of a famous Franciscan prayer: “Help us to remove the venom from our judgements.... where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity... where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety... where there is hostility, let us bring respect; where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.
Amen”.
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