Fake News

I think I first heard the phrase used by President Trump. ‘Fake News’ became the ‘word of the year’ for 2017 according to the Daily Telegraph; despite it being two words!

But the concept has been around forever. Ever since the lies in the Garden of Eden, Fake News has been in existence. The Times comments that ‘a lie is halfway round the world before truth has got its boots on’. Why? Because too many of us love to gossip and are fascinated with the failure of others.

A new study from Science Magazine is extremely thorough. The report indicated that Fake News travels ‘faster, deeper and more broadly’ than the truth. Truth on social media platforms takes six times longer to circulate than lies. Twitter gets the most Fake News, with other social media not far behind. People tweet and retweet what they consider to be a surprise, to be provocative or disgusting. Indeed, it may be disgusting- but was it true?

I remember a debate on the BBC some years ago - I haven’t been able to source it so it may be Fake News! - where these issues were discussed. There was a concern from the Corporation that they were showing drama dressed up as history. I guess the concerns didn’t win. I loved watching Netflix series ‘The Crown’. Claire Foy was amazing as the Queen. But there was so much fiction in there. It made Prince Philip out to be some sort of mad egoist and misogynist. History doesn’t back that up. But how many now have a view of the Royal Family based on this new fiction?

Or take the simplest of lies. I spotted a quote on Facebook the other day attributed to C S Lewis.  In fact it was a quote from a motivational speaker called Les Brown. Does it matter? The quote was a good one, so who cares? But that’s the point! We need to care. Without a truth filter, we are creating a future full of false news for the next generation.

As someone that works with Christian History, I’m taught to verify what I teach. I try and find the original source of a story. If I can’t, I check it out with accepted historians with a good track record. I see whether the story is regularly reported in Christian History books, or is it an outlier in just one or two? I check who is recording the story and as much as possible, whether they have a particular slant on Christian History they want to convey.

We can’t do that with Twitter. So, much as I value free speech, I agree with the conclusion in The Times: ‘[Social media companies]must be forthcoming, transparent and co-operative in helping their users distinguish lies from the truth, and in helping understand why the former should not be so blithely spread.’

We need to care what is true and what is a lie. Or maybe we just prefer to gossip?

Blinded By Your Grace

In musical terms, I’m a child of the 70s. I grew up on the heavyish rock of Argent, Led Zeppelin, Free and Deep Purple. And when I’m feeling nostalgic, that’s still where I return.

So you won’t be surprised to learn that I never really got into Rap, didn’t particularly get along with Punk and as for Garage, Grunge and Grime… it passed me by.

That was, until four months back, when the artist Stormzy appeared as a guest on X Factor on TV, and sang Blinded by Your Grace. I’m told he’s a Grime and Hip Hop artist. What I heard was pure Gospel. In fact, for me, one of the best Gospel songs I’ve heard in many years.

If you’ve not heard it yet, here’s a link:

As I watched, I found myself worshipping:

Lord, I've been broken
Although I'm not worthy
You fixed me, I'm blinded
By your grace
You came and saved me...

You saved this kid and I'm not your first
It's not by blood and it's not by birth
But oh my God what a God I serve…..

Now I'm in a better place
No longer afraid
Blinded by your grace
You came and saved me

It’s been a particularly tough time, especially with regard to local church. I’m a part-time church historian, so I know that even in the most successful revivals in history, there’s often an undercurrent of unrest and disagreement. Even my heroes George Whitefield and John Wesley fell out for a while!

There’s a verse in Proverbs that says:

There are friends who pretend to be friends
But there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

It’s important to focus on line 2, not line 1, and that is what I choose to do.

As I write this, I look out of the window, I see all His creation, I think of all He’s done and I’m blinded by His grace. Amazed at a God who would love me, who saved this kid- and I’m not His first. What a God we serve…