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Former President Obama told BBC Arts his views on conspiracy theories flying through the sky and “the truth is dying.”
Democrat Biden won the US presidential election earlier and will soon enter the White House in January next year, ending Trump’s four-year presidency. But even so, former President Barack Obama, who is also from the Democratic Party, believes that the local culture of “crazy conspiracy theory” in the United States has gradually divided the country. There is still a long way to go to reverse this trend.
Obama accepted an interview with BBC Arts to promote his upcoming memoirs, saying that American society is now more torn than four years ago and that Biden’s election victory is only the beginning of the recombination of these differences, but that “a choice is not enough to reverse the trend. ” .
He believes that politicians alone cannot solve the current polarization of the country, society needs to make structural changes at the same time and everyone must reach a consensus on some facts before discussing how to solve the problem.
But he also noted that the mature attitude of the younger generation gave him “great hope”, and called on young people to “cultivate a cautious and optimistic attitude, believing that the world can change and at the same time participate in it.”
Image source,Reuters
Obama believes that American society is more torn than before Trump took office four years ago.
What exacerbated the tear in American society?
In an interview with the BBC, Obama also noted that some American media have amplified hatred and controversy over urban-rural differences, immigration policies, and social injustice, as well as various controversies over “all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories. , some are called the withering truth. ” All are deliberately expanded and then strengthened by social networking sites.
He described the abnormal division of American society, more serious than when he ran for president in 2007 and took office in 2008. He believes this is partly due to Trump’s willingness to create divisions, “because it is good for him politically.” .
Obama also believes that another reason for the spread of misinformation on the Internet is that people feel that “the facts are not important” on the Internet.
“Millions of people will believe that Biden is a socialist and that Hillary Clinton is a member of a pedophile organization.” He was referring to a 2016 rumor that a Democrat was at a pizzeria in Washington, DC The store has a pedophile organization.
“I think one day we will have to use the law and some industry standards so that we can at least come to a consensus on some facts, and then discuss what to do next on these consensuses.”
A fairy tale that explains why fake news is so popular
Although many mainstream media have actively focused on online rumors in recent years, investigating whether their claims are reliable and reducing the spread of them, Obama believes this is not enough, because when the truth begins to appear, these news false “have spread throughout the world.”
But he also pointed out that social fragmentation is also caused by political and economic factors such as the unfair distribution of wealth and urban and rural disputes. People feel that they have lost the ascending ladder of economic development. Inevitably there will be some reactions, and they will also accept some arguments and return the spearhead. Point out a certain social group.
Fake news is not easily removed because it is popular and has a market.
Analysis by BBC reporter Marianna Spring
One of the most important features of the US electoral process is widespread conspiracy theories. Internet rumors are no longer just circulating in the dark corners of this election. Many public figures with large following also continue to spread these rumors, including President Trump sitting in the White House.
In the extremely divided online world, everything is based on people’s opinions and attitudes, rather than objective facts. This allows us to choose to communicate only with people who have similar ideas. It also creates rich soil for the spread of fake news and conspiracy theories. When some people collect information on social media they will draw misleading conclusions, some media report biased news, exacerbating this situation.
As Obama said, once the media or public figures spread this false or misleading news, it is difficult to prove that it is just hearsay.
To solve this situation, it is not only necessary to present the facts, but also to understand why they are so popular with the audience. I have visited the victims of Internet rumors many times and these interviews show that it is not easy to eradicate rumors.
“Black Lives Matter” and American Racial Issues
As the first black president in American history, Obama said in an interview that race is “one of the greatest controversies” in American history, describing it as the “original sin” of American society. He believes that a series of incidents in the United States last summer, including a series of conflicts caused by the death of the man George Floyd, have created sad and encouraging moments.
Freud, a black man, died while being controlled by the police. The police were accused of abusing force. The protests of many communities turned into serious conflicts, not only in the United States, but even worldwide.
“The sad thing is that our criminal justice system still has obvious elements of racial discrimination … What is optimistic is that we see society launch a campaign on this issue, the level of attention that we have never seen before, and it is peaceful “.
He considers that the most important point of the demonstration is the participation of all ethnic groups, and the response of society to the incident is very different from that of the young black Trayvon Martin in 2012. Martin was shot dead by a white man, George Zimmerman, but Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted by the jury.
Image source,AFP
The United States erupted again in demonstrations on ethnic issues this summer and the wave swept across the country.
Obama also mentioned the 2014 case of another young black man, Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by a white police officer. He believes these incidents have caused discontent across the United States, but noted that many white communities still “refuse to admit that these are not just individual cases.”
“What we saw last summer were many communities where the black population was not large. Residents still took to the streets to support black life. They also support the idea of reform.”
Obama’s memoir “A Promised Land” is about to be published, covering his election as a candidate until his term as first president after entering the White House, and will be published on November 17. This is the first of two books that record his eight-year presidency.
