Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Ministry of "Truthy" Coming to a Federal Government Near You

Elizabeth Harrington of Washington Free Beacon gets an award for the creepiest federal government story of the week.

It has shades of 1984, George Orwell's masterpiece about a totalitarian society. Three ministries control the government under the watchful eye of Big Brother.  One of these is the Ministry of Truth.  This outfit tirelessly works to create the government's narrative while ruthlessly annihilating dissenting voices, or even history.  "We have always been at war with East Asia."

The Obama Administration gave a $1 million grant to a group led by an Organizing For America (Obama's old campaign organization that still exists for some reason) member.  The group is creating a program designed to spot "misinformation" and "suspicious memes" in campaigns and public discourse.

They call it "truthy" after a Stephen Colbert bit.  Referencing a comedian with a liberal agenda is hardly a good starting point.

Why is this problematic?

The New York Times recently called Obama and his minions the worst threat to press freedom in a generation.  No president has worked so hard to control the narrative about his policies, using spying, coercion, and any other tactic possible.  Few can compete with Obama and his team in the creating of "misinformation" and "suspicious memes."

Journalism school teaches about the marketplace of ideas.  The public can decide which are beneficial and which are not.  Certainly the federal government, as a player in that marketplace, cannot be trusted to referee.

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