We live in an age where it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine what is truth and what is merely opinion. Case in point: the recent U.S. election and the misinformation spread about COVID-19.
In a time when most of us have access to the internet, we are exposed to a barrage of information that appears to support all types of claims, and it's up to verify.
Because of the increasing polarization between the right and the left, many people have been only accessing sources supporting their own pre-existing beliefs and automatically dismissing anything which challenges it. This creates a dangerous situation which allows us to be manipulated into certain choices which may not be in our own best interests.
Here in Atlantic Canada, our newspapers, while possibly leaning one way or the other, have been fairly balanced in presenting multiple opinions while reporting on the events affecting our region. I hope this continues, but I am worried by what I experienced earlier this month. When I went to pick up my local SaltWire paper on a January morning, I found another publication lying beside it. Like many households, I had been sent a free issue of a publication called The Epoch Times. I was instantly alert as to what I thought this publication was but challenged myself to keep an open mind. Since I had both my Telegram and Epoch Times in front of me, I decided to read them both side-by-side and see if my suspicions were warranted.
My Telegram presented a mix of local, regional, national, and international news, as per usual, and the opinion section offered commentaries and letters from readers that reflected opposing viewpoints on a particular issue. While the Epoch Times was a sample issue and a weekly publication, I couldn't find any local content as it pertained to this region and very little Canadian content. What I did read was focussed mostly on China and how China and communism is influencing and having more control over our democracy; by my estimate, such content made up around two-thirds of the paper. All of the opinions written in the opinion section supported this world view and other articles on social issues expressed views that clearly tilted far to the right, including the threat of feminism and support for a return to traditional norms.
I can readily accept that people who hold very conservative views have a right and need to have a resource that speaks to their views; such freedom of expression is a vital part of our democracy. What concerns me most about this paper is that it seeks to hide that this is what they represent.
Page three presents a letter from the publisher that promises that it "investigates issues in an objective and unbiased manner" and that it will "respect your right to form your own opinion" and "cover important news and topics in an unbiased way with no hidden agenda or spin." Once you read the content, this is clearly not the case.
Side-by-side, both my Telegram and Epoch Times visually look the same and structurally contain similar layouts, including sections like Lifestyles, Sports and a puzzle page. While it looks like a mainstream publication that holds itself to certain standards of truth, the evidence contained within belies this belief.
When only one side of an issue is presented without a balancing counterpoint, what we are reading is then opinion dressed up as truth. There is enough of this on the internet; we don't need it showing up uninvited on our doorsteps every morning, and it isn't surprising that Canada Post employees publicly raised concerns about being asked to deliver it.
That it was delivered to my door is one of the prices we pay for freedom of expression; it's up to us what we do with this freedom.
Brian Hodder works in the field of mental health and addictions. He can be reached at [email protected].
