Why we don't trust the news

0:00 - Introduction
0:42 - Distrusting the news media's ideological biases
2:33 - The news and The Boy Who Cried, 'Wolf!'
6:12 - The news foments division in our world
8:16 - The news compromises its own credibility & generates chaos
11:36 - Factual news & the task of living in a representative democracy
12:25 - Appealing to the lower brain
16:27 - Outrage, hatred and the quest for identity
18:23 - Our resistance to change, and to assuming responsibility
19:41 - Profit and the cerebral cortex
20:42 - Who's to blame? No one and everyone
25:55 - What to do? Starting with the man in the mirror

[@ulrikebehrendt]

Good news that you're still around!

[@charmedprince]

Lmao I was actually quite worried when the uploads were halted for a while! Good news indeed-o!!

[@adolfosilva3883]

Welcome back

[@KSG148]

Nice to see you back sir!

[@k.q.594]

I'm glad you're back. What you're doing is important.

[@JosephP8]

HES RETURNED

[@gabilurio4270]

So happy to see you back, dear Professor! Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” has been stuck in my mind for a few years now, and the news media certainly cater to those “filled with passionate intensity “. Thank you for being a beacon of light!

[@jacekmiksza505]

Another good episode. Watching mainstream media is like collecting junk - you think you are becoming richer by the day but instead you are becoming more and more cluttered with noise, stupidity and ignorance.

[@76pinetree]

Why does this matter? How does this intersect with psychology in general and humanist psychology in particular. I have been a counselor for over 35 years and twenty years ago how the news was reported was irrelevant to what people suffered from and struggled with in psychotherapy. Now hardly a day goes by that I don't deal with the psychological consequences of what Dr. Dodson is highlighting. In fact I now consider myself a culture wars medic as much as a counselor. The changes in the way the news is reported has had significant negative effects on individual psychological psychology (this has even been recognized by physicians who recommend certain people with certain physical symptoms avoid watching the news. However, I have observed even bigger changes in our intimate relationships. Consequences of the new news style have become a major factor in the quality of the marriages and partnerships, in families, and in our smallest community groups. The wounds of the culture wars are real and this channel models one of the most healthy ways to try to navigate these cultural changes.

[@aminemessak8014]

Glad you're back. We missed these kind of conversations man ❤️

[@kiddogonzalez4408]

I have been missing your content, glad you are back.

[@babyxoxo5804]

so glad to see you back, professor!!

[@DrBradMusil]

Well done, Eric! You articulated many of my issues with the mainstream media in a remarkably lucid and concise fashion. I am sick of these political teams dictating almost every aspect of our daily lives, often unbeknownst to most of us. Keep fighting the good fight!

[@AbElsaied]

Long time no see. Nice to see you back.

[@phylax70]

Thank you so much for this video. I really enjoy your analyses. I'm living in Germany and here we have tax financed news services that actually report in an nearly all to rational way. For example the Afghanistan crisis was reported without an emotional component. I truly appreciate this. I read opinion based comments and articles in a German newspaper. However the information I get there is obviously based on a set of values. But there is plenty of space for debate and controversy anyways. Nevertheless an increase amount of people thinks that everyone is lying to them and believe unspeakable things. It's frustrating indeed. To me the choice of what one reads nd how one inform himself resembles how people choose their diet. There is an demand for junk food so there will always be a "restaurant" pleasing their desire. Same thing with movies I guess (Marvel, etc.) Take care!

[@SteveJones379]

Great message! Good to see you. Thanks

[@hch]

Thank you, professor. I felt it was a good summary of the state of things that ended with a hopeful message that moved me emotionally. I think one other aspect of all this is how the algorithms of social media propagate the type of inflammatory content you described. I don't think you will ever allow yourself to be persuaded by the analytics to change your content though. You are a beacon and I appreciate your work.

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, thanks. I completely agree that ideological biases are also evident in the algorithmic process that the mass media use to disseminate content. In fact, I was going to talk about that in this video, but it was already getting pretty long. But in a way, the algorithmic biases are even more insidious, primarily because they're harder to notice. Anyhow... thanks for listening, and also for hearing that "Beacon" metaphor.... Gratitude. Eric D.

[@Horntsnest1]

I would really love to have a conversation with you Sir, on an intellectual level disregarding any emotions and indoctrination we have endured all our lives. No right, no left only truth. I can wish. There is no one I feel I can talk to on that level.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

People put up signs in their yards propounding their beliefs. Who cares what they believe? They do, and that is the problem. Authoritarianism can change the meanings of words and so the essence of beliefs - in order to maintain the political order.

[@Horntsnest1]

@@kevinhornbuckle yes, but the real problem is the media has been co-opted by the government and CIA and it's been proven, they follow a script. It's not always what they say but more importantly many Tims it is what is not mentioned that is the real story. And finally, in my lifetime the media has lied straight faced for the past almost 60 years on the murder and opt of JFK and they have lied straight faced about Hunter Biden, Lab leak, the impotence of presidential campaign promises. What I am saying is the media has always lied either by commission or omission and continues to do so as of this very minute.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

@@Horntsnest1 So true.

[@DrBradMusil]

You echo my sentiments exactly! I constantly feel this way...which is why I like Eric's channel and videos!

[@DrBradMusil]

@@Horntsnest1 Well said!

[@dlloydy5356]

Really appreciate you discussing this important subject without deviating to one side or another! Free thinking anyone?

[@dlloydy5356]

Hey welcome back. Great to see ya

[@marvinbruinillustration]

Happy to see you back sir!

[@czarquetzal8344]

Thanks for this video, Sir.

[@76pinetree]

I am really glad you bring up how the news is now designed to appeal to the lower brain and the lack of appeal to the cerebral cortex. While this has been an element of rhetoric and communication since the beginning only in the past 15 years have we had the brain science and theories like the triune brain theory to practice appealing to the lower brain scientific and almost surgical. It has been my experience that the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations has learned and applied brain research much better than the field of psychology in general and psychotherapy in particular. It is now essential that everyone understand how our brains come with evolutionary vulnerabilities that put us at risk of being manipulated by those who know the science. By introducing us to the lower brain and the cerebral and how these relate to each other and to "news" Dr. Dodson has gone to the very center of why trends that started long ago are now accelerating with tremendous consequences for our individual lives. I would like to ask everyone, what kind of overall culture do you get when the profit motive becomes the primary organizing motive and it is scientifically proven that it is more profitable to appeal to the lower brain than the cerebral cortex? Even more important to this community, how do we turn the juggernaut in time to avoid going where humanities lower brain will take us? How do we bring the cerebral cortex back into the conversation?

[@ethanhartman9032]

Glad to see you back!

[@SAKA701]

I honestly think that a mandatory philosophy 101 senior highschool course where they cover epistemology and formal argumentation would more or less remedy alot of the misinfo problem.

[@Booer]

2:15 bust on stone phillips

[@davide.patterson6462]

Welcome back.

[@ssevkin]

Yay! You're back!

[@AnotherDante]

Hope you've been enjoying life. I missed your videos.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

I hope he is staying on blues guitar.

[@76pinetree]

Yet another aspect of this is how the public myth, narrative and imagination has changed within the complex socio-political-economic dynamics and how these depend on each other. Fifty years ago there were two main narratives organizing society - members of a faith tradition living within that tradition and/or citizens living within a nation. Fifty years ago the profession of journalism was built around establishing credibility which consisted of presenting the facts, informing the public, and there was even space for editorializing as long as the boundary between facts, opinions, and ideologies was maintained. What does journalism look like when the imagination guiding us today is that we now live in markets and journalist compete in these markets for the attention of consumers? During the peak of the modern project, credibility (trust) revolved around standards related to objectivity, public interests, accuracy, and truth. Have consumers stopped wanting or demanding these things? Being a citizen of a representative democracy is quite different from being a self interested consumer. About fifteen years ago the interlocking narrative imagination shifted and the assumptions, values, and standards of modernity no longer determined the social dynamic. I think Eric is using a historical analysis to encouraging us to see that our real freedom has to do with both character, attitude, and certain mental habits and that these have been undermined by a failure of imagination, myth, and narrative. Fighting to change the world or fighting to change others is the world makes you powerless. Combining better storytelling, better myth, better imagination and better narratives with character, attitude, and real world behavior empowers you.

[@thattimestampguy]

0:00 Cynical View of The News [programs, anchors/journalists, presentation] 3:20 Weather Bla bla bla what’s the political implications [when you drink with a plastic straw] ?! 4:29 Tuning out 4:52 (yes) 5:23 _The Boy Who Cried Wolf_ 5:42 But that’s how media works! Powerful people need to inform the people of “what they need to” know 6:29 Partisan Desire to hear what one believes 8:16 What should I believe? (What must I believe? Why should I care what I believe?) 9:54 Joe Rogan ex. 10:17 *Overeager ideological promotion compromises “sticking to the facts”, leading more to dive into (what one wants to trust rather than…idk)* 11:54 We Have Freedom of The Press ‘12:26 _Why would Newsfolk intentionally/unintentionally destroy their own credibility? for what?_ 13:24 Is the Internet destroying media? Changing it for better/worse? too much competition makes news sensational to stick people to one company vs another? (We’re newspapers a more calm medium of information than the Internet headlines today?) 15:41 Directing attention to insignificant narratives, topics, subjects 16:36 (Schafenfrude. Pleasurable but gosh it makes me feel like a jerk) 16:46 Pleasure & Meaning in differences 18:08 “Who would we be without our enemies?” (😯) 19:34 Digging into the sand 20:05 Professionalism is stuffy and boring and for old people 20:57 Blame is not simple • Network Executives - were only following the job - to make profitable business • The Audience - we’re just doing what makes us feel good 22:56 Power and Obedience 23:48 • Politicians 24:20 Sus 24:41 Unity and Division, Clarity and Misdirection 26:08 Blame is owned by no one and everyone 27:05 “You can resolve to live your life with integrity” (to be unruled by one’s enemy) 28:16 Rising Above to…. • Friend • Role Model • Tutor/Mentor • Leader • Beacon • Ripple of Goodness 29:37 Undeniably Passionate 29:59 Man In The Mirror 🪞 30:27 You Move You, (even if sometimes you want someone else to carry you)

[@JHimminy]

Michael Crichton coined the term “Gell-Mann amnesia,” which is a helpful notion for those looking to detach from “news.”

[@trucid2]

Hi Eric. I left two comments but they're not being let through. I did not use bad words or anything like that. This might be my last comment on youtube due to the blatant censorship on the platform.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

Watch the new Glenn Greenwald video about the new wave of support for government censorship of speech. He reviews new Pew polling data.

[@tannerhagen774]

Thanks for the tid bit sir, I’ve been enjoying Greenwald videos for past few days and enjoy his content so far. Much appreciated

[@broscosmoline]

Online media compete in a market for attention that rewards provocation and whose algorithms select for outrage. On the other hand, mainstream media outlets compete for attention in the context of a more important competition for accuracy. MSM brands - at least those reputed to be news outlets of record - depend on fealty to journalistic standards, and editorial staff must be preparered to defend their reporting with corraborating sources.

[@shawnburnham1]

i feel cold

[@ericdodson2644]

I thought that hardy Nords like Ragnar Lothbrok never felt cold.

[@jackwong9349]

Hi Eric, would you consider making a video on having children?

[@albo1506]

Another fine video. Thanks. Politics in the US to this Dane, is not about left ot right, but rather right and farther right. What goes for left over in the USA is all right compared to danish politics. And no we are not in any way a socialist country. But we do indeed have another way of defining a welfare state. I believe that news in Denmark are far less biased and more trusted by all. Well so far anyway.

[@kaptinkanoodle5039]

24:54 Anti-semitism in Germany during the 1930's sounds like a good example of this

[@GeorgWilde]

"Let's go Brandon" is the news i trust.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

Who is Brandon?

[@siyaindagulag.]

"I DON'T GO BLAH BLUH BLUH" ! Greta's Transylvanian cousin. 😅 Seriously though, the content , language and the method of re-presenting "news" , via msm , is, imho ; highly irresponsible-.appealig to the reptilian brain-.(not just head- nodding, virtue signalling but thickly disguised tone and a pace preventing, as you say : cortical use by those absorbing it.) I suppose however, it serves such demagoguery quite well . I Appreciate your fine work , Sir .