This short film from 2014 is even more relevant today. It describes how Russia’s President Putin and others have used disinformation and fake news to undermine people’s perception and understanding of the world.
As the film explains, this approach is deliberately intended to create so much churning and confusion in our minds that we no longer understand what is happening: who is doing what, or why.
In the face of such confusion, the film says, our only response is to say “Oh dear” and give up.
But there is another, more useful, way to respond. And that is to get clearer on who we are, what matters most to us, and what we are doing to achieve that.
The clearer we are about these things, the less the fake news will matter, for four reasons.
First, when everything is a priority then nothing is. So the clearer we are about our priorities, the clearer it becomes whether a piece of news (whether fake or not) is relevant to us. And if it is not relevant then we can ignore it and get on with our own priorities, undistracted.
Second, even if a piece of news does turn out to be relevant to us, it doesn’t change what we are working to achieve — though it might affect how we achieve it. Now, instead of asking, “Is this story true?” we can ask, “If it were true, what would I do differently?” Again this keeps us focused on our own goals and makes us more likely to succeed.
Third, if it turns out that the news (fake or otherwise) would make it more difficult for us to achieve our objective then knowing our purpose and values makes it easier to find other ways of achieving them. Again, this keeps us focused and determined because, no matter what happens, we will always be able to find new ways to create what matters most to us.
And fourth, the more strongly we have inspired ourselves and the people around us to long to build what we care most about, the less the fake news will matter — because the more we are surrounded by an inspired team of people, longing to get to where we want to go, the better we will be able to achieve that goal, no matter what anybody else might say or do.
The clearer we are about our own priorities and the more inspired we are to achieve them, the less the fake news matters.
And then our response to fake news can shift from “Oh dear” to “So what?“
All of which makes us more antifragile — able to use change to become stronger and more valuable.
How often do you find yourself distracted by news (fake or otherwise) that doesn’t really affect you? Do you know what your purpose and values are? Are you working to bring what matters most to you alive in an increasingly unpredictable world?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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[Adam Curtis “So What?”, “Nonlinear warfare – A new system of political control”]