<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-6eb22801-9a4a-496b-dd82-7fa980d7a28c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Some Notes on Journihilistic DisIntegrity </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Truth is just so 20th Century; a has-been concept; dried out like beef jerky; soft like marshmallow fluff or a baby’s butt. We don’t need truth because we are capable of forming opinions; of producing deflective rhetoric in support of whatever opinion we may hold, may believe. We faithfully defend our opinions because we know better -- everyone else is stupid after all; because we know the truth; we hold our opinions to be truth because how could they be otherwise. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br class="gmail-kix-line-break"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br class="gmail-kix-line-break"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Donald Trump’s diatribes against a “dishonest media” are the moans of a distressed sociopathic strongman. And, in reality he not attacking the media for being “dishonest”; rather, he is attacking the media because its reporting doesn’t follow his self indulgent world view -- with himself at the center of not only the world, but the entire universe; because his lofty opinion of himself is the only truth allowable. It’s tremendous, it’s Huge! Everything else is fake news. Roll the video. We have proof. Teflon Don has grabbed the world by the p_____ and won’t let go. Don’t even try to pull him away -- he’ll throw the tantrum of the terrible twos...</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Truthiness is something like “fruitiness” as the term relates to breakfast cereals like Trix or Fruity Pebbles. There is nothing of “truth” in truthiness… Truthiness is an extension of plausibility. It exists in the same domain as the endless “perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” of Ancient Aliens. As it extends plausibility toward the impossible through acrobatic leaps in logic, truthiness smashes the verifiable with over-the-top speculation, with outrageous -- sometimes prurient -- fiction. Think Pizzagate (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory</a>). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It is hard to find any truth or truthiness in the Pizzagate conspiracy, which, through pure speculative fiction, connected the Democratic party to human trafficking, satanic ritual, child pornography, and other profane activities. The debunked conspiracy theory which began on 4chan spread through social media, mostly on reddit by users mainly in Cyprus and Vietnam, and on Twitter mainly by retweeting bots. Despite its lack of plausibility -- the theories read more like a really bad espionage novel than reality -- the story was picked up by fake news and real news properties, entering mainstream consciousness. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">To a certain extent, this fake news story deteriorates real journalism through its cultural influence. Pizzagate had a clear intent, also, to destroy the Democratic party by developing plausibility through repeatability, by saturation in social media, and its conversion from fake news to speculative journalism, or what we could call journullism. As this story moved from 4chan, to reddit, to Twitter, to fake news outlets like inforwars, to mainstream media (as it tried to debunk the theory), true journalism begins to appear more and more nihilistic, desperate, and not fully engaged in contemporary culture. In this regard, the fake news agenda promoted through the Pizzagate conspiracy theory has less to do with its obscene content than does with journihilistic disintegrity; the erosion of truth beyond truthiness to debatable opinion. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In watching the post-inauguration balls, it was interesting to hear Donald Trump claim that the attendance numbers at the inauguration and the following parade were “tremendous.” By making this claim, Trump makes fake news. He goes against the visible, photographic evidence. And, plenty of people will believe Trump’s words over the photographic evidence, claiming that the media is “unfair” and “dishonest.” As this relates to journullism, we may to consider “an eye for eye” and counter Trump’s fictive claim of “tremendous” numbers with even more outrageous claims. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br class="gmail-kix-line-break"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br class="gmail-kix-line-break"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">During the UnderAcademy course, Mark and I held a press conference at which, as the founder and Provisional Provost of UnderAcademy College I read the following statement:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I am here to tell you that UnderAcademy’s support for fake news will continue; that we believe fake news serves a vital function in our current culture; is a valid form of communication and must not be confused with mainstream media channels such as CNN, MSNBC, CBS, what have you. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The current administration has made multiple attempts to delegitimize fake news by connecting it with real news. Fake news journullists will not tolerate the confusion of journihilism with journalism. Any claims that CNN is fake news denigrates fake news as much as it does real news. It is dishonest and unfair. Furthermore; these comments demonstrate a lack of understanding as to the values and ethics that determine both, and a misunderstanding of terminology. FAKE MEANS FAKE!!!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The continued use of “alternative facts” as a method of validating, and invalidating communications by politicians and their spokesperson infringes on the domain of true fake news journullists. True fake news, real fake news is, in essence, is of course not apolitical; but, it isn’t political either. It is apathetical. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Indeed, it is disingenuous to burden fake news with the fact of post-truth culture, to build a wall around fake news, to limit its potential as satire or conspiracy theory. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We already understand that we live in a volatile post-truth world, in which fiction can be promoted as fact; in which fact can be dismissed as fiction. The role of fake news, or real fake news is to examine the margins, to play at the differences between the mainstream and the maelstrom. Journihilism will persevere. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We will make fake news fake again!”</span></p><div><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></div></span><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Jun 11, 2017 at 10:07 PM, Renate Terese Ferro <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rferro@cornell.edu" target="_blank">rferro@cornell.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------<br>
Thanks Mark,<br>
What I think is so interesting is the fact that in order to write fake news you have to be able to discern between what is truth and what is not. It’s a matter of framing and contextualizing. Can you talk about the production of the link you’ve uploaded? Thanks for sharing. Also just wondering what kinds of students signed up for your course! Renate<br>
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Renate Ferro<br>
Visiting Associate Professor<br>
Director of Undergraduate Studies<br>
Department of Art<br>
Tjaden Hall 306<br>
<a href="mailto:rferro@cornell.edu">rferro@cornell.edu</a><br>
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On 6/11/17, 2:21 AM, "<a href="mailto:empyre-bounces@lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au">empyre-bounces@lists.<wbr>artdesign.unsw.edu.au</a> on behalf of Mark Marino" <<a href="mailto:empyre-bounces@lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au">empyre-bounces@lists.<wbr>artdesign.unsw.edu.au</a> on behalf of <a href="mailto:markcmarino@gmail.com">markcmarino@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
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>----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------<br>
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empyre forum<br>
<a href="mailto:empyre@lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au">empyre@lists.artdesign.unsw.<wbr>edu.au</a><br>
<a href="http://empyre.library.cornell.edu" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://empyre.library.cornell.<wbr>edu</a></blockquote></div><br></div></div>