Information integrity and where to find it

When I did my traditional search for a meme to go with what I am writing (as much to encourage folk to read what I write) I found lots on data integrity but none on information integrity. Correct me if I’m wrong but data integrity is about securing data that has been accumulated from hackers etc. whereas information integrity is or should be ensuring information one gathers is honest, balanced and accurate, including presenting all sides in case of disputes, and differentiating between fact and opinion, something in the past one hoped mainstream news outlets would have done. When Donald Trump had a recent customary dig at the media, here covering his latest rally speech, it was because they failed to point cameras to the large crowds attending, thereby failing to report something that was important, and he was right! The meme I did select is apt though, as we need those who inform us to have both wisdom and integrity.

Those who read my blogs will know my disillusionment with media outlets like the BBC and the quality press, because of their lack of integrity evidenced for example by their skewed reporting on the war on Ukraine. It is why I these days I place little store on those outlets, whose reporting some friends take as gospel. I have similar qualms with social media outlets like Google (who sift results to online searches to fit the narrative they want us to subscribe to, and who own YouTube that bans certain content they disapprove of), Facebook (who have currently partly banned me for posting stuff that violates their “community standards”, including memes like the one above) and Twitter which I don’t use but that could change (interestingly, they also kick off those who post stuff they dislike but is now subject to a takeover bid by Elon Musk who promises to restore free speech). We now see alternatives to these, including Trump’s “Truth Social”. The following is from my “Links” page:

“As for news sources, I am still working on this. I have yet to find one that I regularly check out, a sad reflection on the times we live in, as well as showing where my current interests lie. However, there are a number of alternative news sources I visit and I have included some under one umbrella.

Alternative News: UKColumn is one recently discovered source I occasionally check out and is one of the more solid alternative news resources, and one not linked to vilified conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and Charlie Ward, who might also be referred to (see below), notably for its alternative take on the “Corona pandemic”, vaccine passports and most recently the war in Ukraine. I have hopes for GB News still, with Nigel Farage and some honest journalists on board. Across the Pond, the Drudge Report has sadly gone off the boil and Fox News has been compromised, although Tucker Carlson is still good for truthful reporting. I also find Steve Bannon’s War Room helpful and the Epoch Times offers a lot of good stuff. When it comes to associating news and modern day prophecy, I have found Richard’s Watch and Elijah Streams (albeit with some reservations) particularly helpful. Most recently, I have come across the Mel K  show and the deliberations of Clay Clark (accessible on Bitchute) and Remnant-TV.com, fronted by a devout Catholic, all giving a take on news mainstream sources omit.” There are more good alternative news sources of course and my search continues as I find new helpful ones, mindful that for some alternative equals fake and as for its news, that is conspiracy theory.

Finding out pertinent information as to what is going on in the world is part of my remit as a watchman on the wall (whose job is to warn folk) and should be something that concerns us all as we seek to respond to happenings in the world. For example, my decision NOT to take “the jab” is based on my finding information that passes the integrity test and leads me to the view taking the jab results in net harm. We live in times when to pass on information that the authorities disapprove of is being increasingly frowned on. And Mr Trump is right – there is a lack of those who report news, who have integrity. My hope for them who do is ongoing (realising always there is the need to test and weigh and recognise everyone has an agenda) and some curbs are needed (after all someone who shouts fire in a crowded theater, when no fire, cannot be tolerated).

I’m also conscious we must separate fact from opinion and many fail to do this. While, in my opinion, we should all be entitled to an opinion (although wisdom is needed when to give and grace when giving our opinion), facts are what matters more, and even more than that – what we do with those facts. If we believe in truth and it is that which sets us free, we need to honour those who try with due diligence to uncover the facts. We should recognise there is much we don’t know and may never know, and sometimes place information we come across in a box to return to when we know more.