Real news tells us about wars, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanos, earthquakes, accidents, tragedies, and fires. That news is “real”, at least to some extent. Real news doesn’t make much money.
Then, there is “infomercial news”. Infomercial news makes enough money to pay for reporting the “real” news. All the “real news” reports are paid for by those who fork over enough so that their own infomercial news can masquerade as “real news”.
“Infomercial news” exists to convince consumers and taxpayers that an Imaginary Problem, “childhood obesity”, for instance, is so serious that government funding must be provided. Various diets, medicines, regulations, and regulators are suggested as cures for “the deadly plague of childhood obesity”. Infomercial news makes it clear that it is our duty to be aware of, and to do something about, “childhood obesity”. Few, if any children have actually died of obesity, and life spans are increasing. So, it’s not a real problem, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the infomercial news on the subject.
Frequently mentioned favorites in infomercial news are the latest studies or problems that can be related to the Global Warming/Freezing scams. Icebergs, polar bears, Eskimos (oops! Inuits.), droughts, floods, rising sea levels, falling sea levels, crop failures, insect attacks,and even sunspots are caused by “unregulated human activity that is going to destroy life as we know it when Global Warming/Freezing wipes us out in the next few years or decades.”
The rights of tiny groups of activists are magnified by a third type of infomercial news. A percent or so of the population is homosexual. A few percent of that one or two percent would like to be “married”. Suddenly, the laws against that are turned into a “real problem” that must be “courageously dealt with) by all good citizens.
When we start to see how the Imaginary Problems are elevated to high levels of concern, we understand that lies and exaggerations are involved. People are bearing false witness. Lies are being told for money. Souls are drawn closer to the father of lies.
We should shun Imaginary Problems, and the infomercial news that gives them credibility, as we would the plague.