Whom can we believe anymore?

Time of India

19-05-2025

From Padma Lakshmi baring all to wardrobe malfunctions on the ramp, why is it that fashion gets noticed only when it reveals the naked truth? There is a lot more to it -- top designer tiffs, model face-offs, dressing up celebs and the kind of gossip that would make filmdom blush. This blog brings fashion to you through the eyes of one who has followed it professionally as one of India's foremost fashion critics. Vinita Nangia, a Senior Editor with The Times of India, also writes a Sunday column, Ozone. LESS ... MORE
Whom can we believe in a world of smoke and mirrors? When falsehood and fake news are peddled with unbelievable insolence, the lines between true and fake don't just blur; they soon get obliterated.
Confidence in one's own self to a great measure depends on the information we are privy to. And if we lose faith in our sources of information, we lose our sense of perspective and the ability to speak with conviction. What moral compass can we possibly follow in a world where truth is slippery and debates are no more than shouting matches between the ill-informed?
My mantra used to be to start off with believing everyone, unless they prove themselves to be liars; and then, to take everything thereon with a pinch of salt. Sadly, now it needs to change. Believe nobody and nothing until I am sure, beyond doubt, of the credibility of the source, and till I have verified that the information has not been generated by Artificial Intelligence! And, since this is easier said than done, I find myself becoming quite a Doubting Thomasina!
Individuals share false narratives and claims; companies share untrue data and achievements; politicians and lobbyists spread misinformation to influence public opinion, and even countries in war situations make untrue claims to mislead citizens! Deep fakes can alarmingly alter a politician's speech to say something he never said; a celebrity gets caught in a scandal that never happened – twisting facts and ruining reputations. Our emotions are played with through AI-generated fake videos of flawless faces, perfect sunsets, amazing destinations, kids who sound too intelligent, and pets who perform unimaginable stunts.
Caught in this miasma of fakery, our ability to distinguish between authentic and phony gets terribly eroded, making us cynical and doubtful. And so, we start questioning everything…
Studies show that people look for and believe only information that aligns with their perspectives. This makes us vulnerable to misinformation, and in the Digital Age, information platforms take full advantage of this vulnerability. Algorhythms that prey on
our fears, biases and low attention spans, help spread like wildfire all news that is calculated to feed our sense of indignation and shock. The most emotionally-charged content is pushed to the top of our social media feed, and truth falls an easy prey at the altar of engagement and virality.
Where does that leave us? Surrounded by fake virality and false propaganda, emotions exploited for different agendas, one feels used and manipulated. Look at the way our emotions swayed in the four days of Indo-Pak war, depending on what reports we were fed. Shock and sadness over the Pahalgam massacre turned into a sense of righteousness when India wiped out terrorist bases in Pakistan. Anxiety over the Pak counter drone attacks turned into a confident pride when India pounded enemy military facilities. The sudden ceasefire with both sides claiming victory, created confusion with President Trump claiming credit for brokering peace. Further, our collective morale took a dip when international media revealed that Indian planes had been downed with help from China. And then, with PM Modi's speech, we were led back to a sense of 'All is right with our world.' This is what we wanted to believe; so, this is what we believed.
As we emerge from this emotional wringer, can we even believe our own selves anymore? When emotions can be so easily manipulated by outside factors, one ends up losing respect for one's own self. Misinformation ensures that we can see the same reality from as many perspectives as there are agendas, resulting in chaos!
But amid all this chaos, the quiet power of truth still holds somewhere, waiting to be discovered. The truth may not be going viral, but it is what endures. Maybe that truth resides with those who talk less and do more; with those who build their lives around action rather than propaganda– the friend who turns up when she knows you need her, the Mother who quietly hands out home remedies rather than blog about them; the writer who doesn't constantly post on Social Media but writes that one thoughtful piece that lingers – voices that are not constantly self-promoting, but genuinely contributing. Will the future see a lessening of misinformation online? Opinion remains divided. Some believe that the reach of internet will speed up the human tendency of accepting and acting on misinformation, while others believe that with information literacy, people will be able to critically evaluate information sources and flag misinformation. The trick is to look beyond the spotlight and find those who actually care about the credibility of what they say, do, create, or propagate. As the poet John Donne said, On a huge hill,
Cragged and steep, Truth stands… (Elegy VI)
The poet implied that it is not easy to reach that truth, but it can be done with effort and perseverance. It requires the power of critical thinking and the inclination to go beyond all the noise that surrounds us.
Maybe the answer isn't about whom to believe, but about how to listen – with a little skepticism, a lot of curiosity, and an instinct for the authentic.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.