| Crowd control: On Friday we witnessed an inauguration unlike any other, which was followed by a spin attempt unlike any other. This weekend we also saw a demonstration of the people's power that was equally unique, and immensely moving. The Women's March that took place on Saturday across the U.S., and around the world, including in locations as far-flung as Antarctica, drew well over 1 million domestically by conservative estimates, and 3 million or more at the top end of early analyses. Main streets in many U.S. cities were packed with demonstrators, and crowds in Washington were as much as three times larger than those for the inauguration on Friday, according to expert estimates. 
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer lied about attendance at the inauguration, in direct and obvious contradiction of the facts. Media were told to believe counterfactual comparisons between the size of Trump's crowd and that of Barack Obama, despite ample evidence, from exhaustive photographic records, expert opinions and real ridership numbers supplied by the Washington DC transit authority. The point is that under an administration willing to go on record with easily disproven assertions, technology has a unique role and responsibility in upholding a baseline of factual information flow. Luckily, if the internet's history in the U.S. has proven anything, it's that it's uniquely difficult to control. Ironically, this worked to Trump's benefit in terms of his rise to power, but this weekend's attempt to manipulate the truth exposed a weakness; in office, Trump's using more traditional tools to distribute his message, including the White House press office. CNN opted not to carry the briefing live, however, and instead covered Spicer's comments later with context to properly frame the misinformation attempts. Social channels proved a good medium for building Trump's popularity, but the same rails are equally capable of transporting signal as well as noise. That was apparent from this weekend's historic Women's March, which you could not miss on Facebook and Twitter, even if, at least initially, it wasn't getting the attention it rightly deserved on TV and radio. Some are ready to suggest that the internet is precisely the reason why facts on the national discourse stand on such tenuous footing. But history again shows we're less unique than we'd like to imagine; the cautionary tale of certified quack Dr. Brinkley and his manipulation of broadcast radio prove that media is always susceptible to enthusiastic misinformation attempts. Accurate information can thrive on these networks, too — and will, with enough help. Get the context: |
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