A media hoax is seldom a valuable wake-up call
Last edited Tue Nov 20, 2012, 10:27 PM - Edit history (2)
Throughout the kerfuffle about the obvious truth of something some kid posted on the internet, claiming to have secretly been in control of the electoral process from his Mom's basement, there has been a stream of, "But this highlights the important and serious issue of vote integrity."
No, it does not do anything for the issue of vote integrity except make it a laughing stock.
If people concerned with vote integrity want to advance the cause of reliable elections, an excellent place to start would be disassociating that reasonable public interest from any bizarre claims spouted in its name.
The Tawana Brawley case did not advance awareness of racism and police brutality. It retarded such awareness. It made people take real claims of real incidents less seriously.
A hoax never points to the "real issue." It undermines the real issue. It indicts the real issue by association.
The Piltdown Man did not advance public acceptance of evolution.
This should be obvious... but perhaps not.
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