In today's age of disinformation, is it really possible to get to the truth?

First off, let me state that I'm not quite sure if this is the appropriate quorum or not, so monitors, please feel free to move if needed.

I would like to pose a question to the ATS community. As a seeker of truth, I make every effort to try and verify the various information that I find during my quests for knowledge. But, recently I have found it increasingly more difficult to get to the truth. I'm curious if others are experiencing the same issue?

What I am finding, is that I will discover an article that appears to be very well researched and presented, only to find another article that completely refutes all of the information I found. I know that there are a number of sites that have a reputation for publishing articles that are known to be hoaxes. I'm not talking about them.

So, I guess my question is, how does one, in today's age of disinformation, ascertain what the truth is? Does anyone have a method that they feel would help to better wade through the BS? Any advise would be appreciated.

Well from this anonymous internet user: I'd say you can trust me 100%. I'd never lie but you would never be able to tell anyway.

But just so you know, ive never told and lie and i never would. Everything on wikipedia is also extremely accurate.

reply to post by MitchL61


There's no secret to it necessarily. I find it best to look amongst polar opposites in terms of bias and see what commonalities arise.

When something is especially fishy I check out CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, Fox News, etc. I really can't stand Fox News or MSNBC, but underneath the bias and exaggeration, if you can find similar or the same information, I am of the opinion you are at least close to the truth.

It's not practical to do that with every piece of "information" you receive, but if I feel it's important, that's how I go about piecing the truth together.

reply to post by MitchL61


My question is is there such a thing as "truth"? Every group of people from religion, to culture, etc. Has presented in the "truth". I just see an absolute "truth" impossible. What we need to do is survive. You know what I'm saying?

reply to post by MitchL61


Pray to God to change your character.

If you seek truth, He will guide you in the way to the truth.

When He has formed the character He desires for you (and no, heck no, it will not be easy, but it can be fun if you have the right attitude); then the character that you possess will therefore be able to recognize truth much more quickly and much more easily.

IT doesn't mean that you will know everything. But if two options are posed to you, and one is the truth, you will know it. If they are not the truth, you will know they aren't the truth. For those that genuinely seek the truth know what it looks like when they see it. But those who seek only for what is comfortable for them, or for their bias, this will hinder their ability. Their eyes are blind to the truth because they seek only to find what suits their cause, their comfort, their zone.

Now some have convinced themselves to create a comfort zone outside of the comfort zone. And they have said to themselves, "surely, I'm doing well, because I have made it comfortable to be outside of my comfort zone". But the irony is that they have only fooled themselves twice, and dug a deeper hole for their confusion.

Once you learn truth, it is very simple to understand how much bad information there really is.

And I'll give you a hint: most everything that you are seeing and reading today is exactly this formula: 50% based on a true story, 50% utter fabrication.

And the portion that is based on a true story, is not even factual. It only resembles the facts somewhat.

You see, the human spirit has been equipped with the ability to discern truth.

Meaning, when truth happens upon you, you know it is true! And we all take that for granted. And no one recognizes that.

But I sat and considered one day: Wait a minute. Why is it that when I teach something to somebody, they are not always confused, but instead, say, "Well, that makes sense!" Interesting. Then it dawned on me: The only way that someone can know the truth is if they ALREADY know it.

How can someone know what something is if they don't already have that understanding within them? If there is only but confusion, how could one possibly know that they hear is any good? Unless it were within them.

Now in this way also do people know what a lie is. But people these days, especially this generation, are major liars. And today, it is acceptable. It is understood that everyone is a liar and that it is okay; that's how business works these days.

But obviously, that is not true... and how could someone call true what is a lie and also possess lies? Foolishness, utterly! People are dimmer these days; not wiser, unfortunately.

Now liars cannot discern lies. They don't know them. Sometimes they discern the tactics of a lie. But that doesn't mean they are convinced of a lie. Liars don't know the truth, so they cannot understand when something is true. It's hard for them. Liars are the easiest people to lie to; against everything you've ever heard. But try it. Find your lyingest liar, and lie your lying liar pants off to them. Make it good. See if they notice beyond initial doubts.

But those that know the truth, we know a lie quickly. Instantaneously; and people are shocked. And liars keep playing the game, trying to pretend like they are not translucent as the glass through which they are throwing their silly rocks. And they hate it. They hate being translucent. And I feel bad for them, too. I don't like to see people to be shamed so easily. But do the people who know the truth believe the lie for the sake of the liar? No, that's also stupid. So the liar digs their own grave, and blows out their own windows.

If you know the truth, how could you fall for a lie? Pretty simple, I think.

So if you are having a hard time discerning truth, the reality is, that you are a liar. If you want to be able to seek truth properly, you must first fix your dishonesty, and your lies.

Like alcohol on an open wound, I know it.

Originally posted by MitchL61
First off, let me state that I'm not quite sure if this is the appropriate quorum or not, so monitors, please feel free to move if needed.

I would like to pose a question to the ATS community. As a seeker of truth, I make every effort to try and verify the various information that I find during my quests for knowledge. But, recently I have found it increasingly more difficult to get to the truth. I'm curious if others are experiencing the same issue?

What I am finding, is that I will discover an article that appears to be very well researched and presented, only to find another article that completely refutes all of the information I found. I know that there are a number of sites that have a reputation for publishing articles that are known to be hoaxes. I'm not talking about them.

So, I guess my question is, how does one, in today's age of disinformation, ascertain what the truth is? Does anyone have a method that they feel would help to better wade through the BS? Any advise would be appreciated.

Yeah, there is, but what I have found is that you usually have to get to the academic and scholarly papers, in which the article is based on to find out how the information is being substantiated. The problem with this method is that some of the terminology and mathematics requires a familiarity with the subject matter that requires (1) an advanced level of education on that particular subject (2) specific information about how the information was attained. that the average reader (such as yourself) may not know/understand. Also, (3) a good understanding of the methodology used to substantiate a paper's thesis, which may or may not hinder the accuracy of the paper's conclusion. When you throw in other human factors, such as the agenda/bias of the article writer, or pure misunderstanding by the article writer than you have a whole different layer of "BS" to deal with. So, yeah, you can get to the truth, but nowadays--the truth requires so much education and access to specific information by the average citizen--it almost requires some sort of third person to explain it. And this third person/middle-man will usually have an agenda or subjective viewpoint in which to distort the original researcher's conclusions.

This is an excellent question that needs to be addressed thoughtfully be governments, mainly because much of the foreseeable legislation with involve technical aspects (think genetics, eugenics, bioethics, bio-tech, copy-right infringement, etc) that require objective data that isn't filtered by someone with an agenda or ideological bent. However, if there is no feasible way to relay this data to the public or even your average representative with some sort of bent, I'm amiss to come up with ways in which will be able to address truly technical problems seriously in a political forum. Good question---I have no idea.

It is very important to know the reason that the information was requested to be done when looking at evidence. I have seen information used to form a conclusion on an article that was never researched for that intent. These articles are everywhere in our education system today, all of them distorting reality. It seems that they are accepted if the person writing them is renowned or has many degrees but in essence they are well accepted disinfo.

I'm not saying this happens all the time, I find about twenty five percent of articles that are well accepted are disinfo. The field of Physics is a lot better, their info is a lot more accurate, I just question whether some of the things Physics does is really necessary because I think that the best minds in the world could be working on things that is more important.

So if you want the truth, which can be found, you need to investigate the good and bad of what you want to know with an open mind and it is also important to look at it from the side to decide if it is important enough to even be worried about. It may be important to someone who derives a living off of it but it may be a waste to anyone else to know this stuff in-depth. I scratch the surface to find basics of everything and to get a general education myself, then I will take something apart and put it back together if I desire to find what makes it tick. Sometimes I find I wasted my time but find the understanding helps me with something totally unrelated later on. I like to be a jack of all trades so I can apply what I learn instead of repeating it like a parrot.

The truth is out there, but don't automatically think it is the truth just because there is a lot of evidence and big names backing it.

Thanks to everyone! Some great answers and advice. I think it is somewhat human nature to embellish. Perhaps this could be why we only get partial truths from many different sources. I also realize that individual perception has much to do with it.

Some of the advise given I have used. And as was mentioned, I know nothing is full-proof.

As for TarzanBeta, I agree with you to some degree. I, as of yet, have not refined my spiritual receptors enough to receive what I would call definitive answers on a regular basis, however, I have received spiritual recognition to some inquiries.

is it really possible to get to the truth?

Yes...

But it's VERY difficult.

Why? Because everything is a lie. (see signature)

A couple of reasons for this:

1) The truth movement, just like EVERYTHING else, has been heavily infiltrated.

2) The vast majority of people are massively deceived.

Billions of people on planet earth are living in ignorance.

You need to FORGET about most of what is in the mainstream including ALL news networks.

FORGET about people like Alex Jones who say that"stuff" on the Jesuits is "baloney".

FORGET about people like David Icke, Wes Penre, Russ Kick, and Grace Powers who claim Jesus was a myth or don't even believe in God.

FORGET about people like Bill Cooper, Jordan Maxwell, and Lloyd Pye who are either members of the church of satan or believe Satan isn't real or that he created humans.

Two VERY important quotes:

"After forty years of patient study of the crises which faces humanity, I arrived at a very simple conclusion-all conspiracies are Satanic! ~ Eustace Mullins

One group and one group alone is responsible for virtually all wars and bloodshed on the face of this planet. The Synagogue of Satan

It doesn't just have to do with the present and all the conflicting information you might get. The "Truth" has always been whatever you decide fits in best with your perception of the world. Is the Pharoah a God? Hey, if that's what you want to believe. Is the wind a conscious Spirit that works with men to bring order to the world? Sounds good.\

Whatever you can live with.

I actually think it's EASY to get to the truth now... the hard part is coming to any consensus... it's called divide and conquer.

I suspect the CIA does the same things with nations they are trying to infiltrate.. and they are doing the same thing with this country as well.

It's no coincidence this message board is is designed the way it is and flooded with info either IMO.

reply to post by ForwardDrift


This is an excellent question that needs to be addressed thoughtfully be governments, mainly because much of the foreseeable legislation with involve technical aspects (think genetics, eugenics, bioethics, bio-tech, copy-right infringement, etc) that require objective data that isn't filtered by someone with an agenda or ideological bent. However, if there is no feasible way to relay this data to the public or even your average representative with some sort of bent, I'm amiss to come up with ways in which will be able to address truly technical problems seriously in a political forum that is good.


ForwardDrift you said it all right there. It seems to me, everyone has their own hidden agends. Whether it's the scientific community or the political arena, everyone has their own hidden interest. Even the scientist, that you would hope would be totally unbiased, receives his/her funding from somewhere.