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MAL41 / 21 ISSUE
On Information
Human beings are social animals and the exchange of information is a vital ingredient in their interactions but when a person offers information that they believe to be true but it turns out that it is actually untrue , the person is engaged in misinformation .
On the other hand if a person offers information that they don ’ t know for certain that it is true then that person is engaged in disinformation even if it turns out that the information is true . The test is the person ’ s intention at the point of dissemination .
We raise these distinctions because recently we were treated to an interesting media saga that centered on the health and whereabouts of a neighboring president who went missing in action in what the pundits would call an unprecedented behavior .
Every leader develops over time a routine that his handlers and the public are accustomed to and any significant deviation from the norm has the potential of sparking concern and speculation and if this is not managed well it can cause unnecessary panic and despondency .
In this case we were dealing with an autocratic leader who had earned the nickname of ‘ the bulldozer ’ and we guess that the persona consistent with a bulldozer would be energy , vitality and indestructibility hence any suggestion of mortal frailties would be anathema .
This particular case was even more newsworthy because he was one of the few leaders in the world who were vehement Covid-19 deniers and he had gone to great lengths to rubbish and disparage the science behind the pandemic and labeled it a hoax .
He went further to rope in religion and the devout Catholic consistently declared his country to be Covid free through the grace of God and many national prayer days were called to not only keep the county safe but for thanksgiving for God ’ s favor in averting the scourge .
When a leader takes a controversial stand and requires the country to conform to his version of reality then the issue will inevitably become political , since this infringes on freedom of choice . Not only did he personally deny Covid but he required the country as a whole to follow suit .
So it is not surprising that among the first people to raise the alarm regarding the president ’ s disappearance was the opposition leader who for his persistent declaration that the president was unwell managed to acquire through the official press the moniker Tundu Loose Tongue .
The government went to ridiculous lengths to deny that there was anything amiss with the president and went as far as arresting journalists that reported the matter while giving weird explanations about the president ’ s absence with no evidence proffered .
The government which has a firm stranglehold on the media , issuing and withdrawing licenses at will obviously forgot that we now live in a world where there are milliard sources of news and the possibility of keeping a country effectively in the dark is practically impossible .