My father was a teacher of ethics in Journalism. He had learn by experience the subject because he risked his life to tell the truth during WWII. He wrote a book 40 years ago and I’m reading it again these days. I found a paragraph that it can apply to today’s situation in some places in the world
Some people are not capable of judging social phenomena outside of their particular “truths” and are used to adapting any type of information to their liking. In this way, they modify the truth, without worrying about the inaccuracy of the news they publish or broadcast.
They do not completely falsify them but reconstruct them according to their own needs and according to their intellectual capacity.
This defect is necessarily reflected in ethical conduct that leads to wrong judgment and creates a distorted view. This particular and narrow “truth”, blocked by personal whims, by fanaticism or egotism, is obviously harmful and therefore immoral.
It often happens in these cases that those who are scandalized by the faults of others – without seeing these same faults in their own conduct – adopt the position of severe and unfair judges or teachers. Where generosity is lacking, justice is most likely lacking, and where possible objectivity is not attempted, accuracy is surely compromised.
How much social confusion occurs because of an “ethic” tailored to oneself or only for others based on personal prejudices and active antipathies! Many times, the opportunists, the egocentric, the servile, have their mouths full of slogans and phrases about humanity, justice, the common good, freedom, sometimes because all these issues are “well regarded”, and others because in this way they protect the opposite reality that guides and feeds their own behavior, their hypocrisy.
This fact, unfortunately, not so isolated, is comparable to the demagogic plutocracy that needed a state creation to enter the history of wars, making use of “humanitarian ideals” and falsifying the will of the people.
It is well known that envy, hatred, and revenge are sources of inspiration for social crimes. Quite a few of these elements are found in intentional inaccuracy.
Photo by Camilo Jimenez on Unsplash