From Apartheid to Outrage Porn: How We Twist Truth and Fuel Division

"Outrage porn": rather than report on real stories and real issues, the media find it much easier (and more profitable) to find something mildly offensive, broadcast it to a wide audience, generate outrage, and then broadcast that outrage back across the population in a way that outrages yet another part of the population. This triggers a kind of echo of bullshit pinging back and forth between two imaginary sides, meanwhile distracting everyone from real societal problems. It's no wonder we're more politically polarized than ever before. ~ Mark Manson.

Reading Mark Manson’s book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck*, I recently had to come to terms with the fact that there is no truth. Oddly enough, throughout history, we have been very good at documenting the treacherous ways we have aimed to alter truth or enforce our own.

Apartheid South Africa tried to establish its truth of separation amongst races, Nazi Germany tried to establish its truth through the mass extermination of the Jewish community, and Western powers extracted from Africa for years because they established their truth that they were superior. Now, more than ever, it feels as if the separation that drove people to hate and war is present once again.

Whether it is Russia-Ukraine, Palestine-Israel, conflict in Sudan, Congo, or the greater Middle East, it feels as if there is no one to trust. In the back of our heads, we know of the evil they have committed—not just on one occasion, but countless.

The reports that have come out about how Western media entities controlled reporting about Israel-Palestine, and the particular way it was administered, showed the bias that is entrenched in the system. Once again, it was a moment for mistrust.

In the year that was marked with elections and political campaigns, it felt that politics was more removed from reality. Attacks toward immigrants, in particular, took the internet by storm both in America and Europe. It is evident that media outrage porn is truly manifesting a dangerous environment.

What do we do about it? Some have turned to independent journalism, which in some ways has put us in deeper silos. We need to become more open to witnessing a story from a variety of angles and engaging with a variety of viewpoints. In this way, we can engage in a greater depth of ideas, and we move away from conversations having to be entrenched in politics, which has inherent winners and losers.

More importantly, I think it is important we disconnect and reconnect with our physical surroundings. People are so tied to holding on to the people they grew up with, as we carry them in our pockets on the phone. But we deny ourselves new ideas that are challenging because we never allow new environments to invite people.

If we want the media to change their ways, we have to remove the consumer base that allows them to be irresponsible. Similar to the boycotts that have led to the liberation of millions throughout history, we must do the same with information—boycott it until it itself is liberated.