Cassandra's Updates

"I would like to thank my ŷ�� friend, Casey for encouraging me to read this book. Their review is here: /review/show...

In many ways, I feel like I am in a race against time as I read and write about what we are facing in our country. I am still in “shock�� awe by what I am witnessing. A man running for the most important office in the United States of America receives a guilty verdict and becomes a convicted felon. And yet, people gather in support of him. He lies, he is a fraud, he is a convicted rapist. And yet, people continue to support him. He is an insurrectionist, and he is an obvious racist. And yet, people continue to support him. He spews out hate. And yet, people continue to support him.

Why?

There is so much information that I have read that gives me so many reasons as to why people choose to fall under the spells of con men. I understand, and yet, I am perplexed. So, seeking more information, I chose to heed Casey’s recommendation, and read this book.

And, this book helped to provide another point of view. An interesting, rather frightening, yet important and significant view of what could possibly compel humanity to fall under the spell of a con man.

This well-researched book was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist. It is written by a New York Times journalist. He is giving us a devastating account of the inner-manipulations of how social media empires such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Twitter (to name a few), have impacted viewers by disinformation that is easily placed on their platforms.

Typically, this information is made up of invented accusations, often against minorities, and, usually political in nature. And, we can see, and, have seen how social media has been responsible for conjuring mass fear and anger.

When you tell enough people lies, soon the lies sound like truth. And thus, individuals who con, amass followers in droves. Because the ones who have been driven to follow have lost their ability to see through the lies.

Why?

They have been intentionally manipulated.

Fisher shows how Google and Facebook and others have monetized their algorithms to promote hyper-partisanship, which drives divisiveness, which drives engagement, which drives advertising revenue. Because it is all about making money to them. Thus…intentional manipulation.

Fisher shares that YouTube, as an example, doesn’t just polarize political discourse and spawn conspiracy theories; by design they elevate extreme content, allowing “crazies�� to find one another �� and even ushering some of that recklessness to occur.

The question becomes for any of us �� why are we choosing to be manipulated? We are/could be a fairly educated society. Why allow the con man to out con us? Why do we allow ourselves to be gullible? We should know better.

But then, the deeper questions might be��

What is this attraction to hate and violence? Is this really what is fueling the chaos?

“We enjoy being outraged. We respond to it as a reward.��

Fisher is being brilliant here. He wants us to be, as well. We don’t need to be conned. He is asking us to critically think.

Think critically. 🤔

We can. And we should. Because when we choose to critically think, we can outmaneuver the con man.

His book is a message book. A strong one. It would be nice if the ones that needed to read it, would. Because if they did maybe this following message might be heard��

Please stop the Hate. Do not let fear or hostile ignorance take any of us down a path that we cannot return from. We deserve a world of…Tolerance. Respect. Empowerment. Dignity. A Free, Just, Peaceful world. For all. We don’t have to live in this chaos machine.

“Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.�� Robert G. Ingersoll

This book is simply��

Brilliant. Important. Insightful. Powerful. It needs to be read."