I don’t think they realize just how fucking dystopian and elitist In 2021, Facts Aren’t Free sounds.
Trusted, peer reviewed, expert publications and facts are all hidden behind paywalls, subscriptions, or don’t allow ad block. Sites that are free but ask you to turn off ad block just bombard you with so many ads the site is unusable. All the expert facts have barriers between them and the public
However, Breitbart, QAnon, InfoWars, and the like, all have their “facts” for free and happily send them out to the public. There are no barriers between these “facts” and the public. They are the most easily accessed and shared news online.
People love to snarkily say, “Google is free” but none of the reliable information is!! You say, “google is free” to dismiss conversation about social (in)justices, but they’ll go to google and land at Fox New and Breitbart because that’s what's unrestricted. Now, they have more information from the direct opposition of your cause.
If we really want people to educate themselves, to understand the sociocultural nuances, to be able to actually make use of “Google is free,” then Facts Must Be Free!
We cannot expect people, who lack the lived experience or perspective, to be able to accurately tell the facts from disinformation on a topic that’s totally foreign to them. Easy, open access to fact-checked information is critical.
The best way to combat disinformation is to tear down the barriers and open the circulation of expert information!
So share those textbook pdfs! Post those AdBlock work-arounds! Leak those Academic Journals that screw their contributing researchers! Join the efforts already underway of amassing public databases of expert information! .