American Hardwood said:

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The media does their part, but this topic is about phony government numbers. Winston's can be found in both institutions for sure though.

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A skeptical media would hold government's feet to the fire when fed obviously phony numbers month after month instead of willing consuming them and regurgitating them uncritically for their readers/viewers. A non-partisan adversarial press is the informal but critical 4th branch of a representative government and ours has been AWOL for decades.

During the past 10 years, we have devolved to getting our "personal truth/reality" from echo chambers of what we already believe:

1. Friends
2. Social media sites that feed us what we want to believe

Not sure how you get anyone back to the real world.
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Bearpitbull said:

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During the past 10 years, we have devolved to getting our "personal truth/reality" from echo chambers of what we already believe:

1. Friends
2. Social media sites that feed us what we want to believe

Not sure how you get anyone back to the real world.
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I would argue that a lot of that happened specifically because the availability of unfiltered information and video on the internet revealed to people how badly the political agendas were warping the narratives presented to them by the traditional media. Rather than blindly watching and accepting the MSM narratives, they started seeking out alternate sources that they trusted more to not deliberately mislead them.

How you can exclude the price of food & fuel from the reported CPI numbers is beyond me. The cost of two items that effect the average American more than anything else are gas & groceries. smdh

txags92 said:

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Bearpitbull said:

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During the past 10 years, we have devolved to getting our "personal truth/reality" from echo chambers of what we already believe:

1. Friends
2. Social media sites that feed us what we want to believe

Not sure how you get anyone back to the real world.
-

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I would argue that a lot of that happened specifically because the availability of unfiltered information and video on the internet revealed to people how badly the political agendas were warping the narratives presented to them by the traditional media. Rather than blindly watching and accepting the MSM narratives, they started seeking out alternate sources that they trusted more to not deliberately mislead them.

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I agree but I do think both things can be true. The media was a hot liberal mess, educating (in their minds) the unwashed. When people got tired of it, they rolled right with the evolution of media and social outlets than just kept/keep feeding them stuff they already believe. That is like fighting cancer with HIV. Both are not good.

Bearpitbull said:

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txags92 said:

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Bearpitbull said:

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During the past 10 years, we have devolved to getting our "personal truth/reality" from echo chambers of what we already believe:

1. Friends
2. Social media sites that feed us what we want to believe

Not sure how you get anyone back to the real world.
-

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I would argue that a lot of that happened specifically because the availability of unfiltered information and video on the internet revealed to people how badly the political agendas were warping the narratives presented to them by the traditional media. Rather than blindly watching and accepting the MSM narratives, they started seeking out alternate sources that they trusted more to not deliberately mislead them.

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I agree but I do think both things can be true. The media was a hot liberal mess, educating (in their minds) the unwashed. When people got tired of it, they rolled right with the evolution of media and social outlets than just kept/keep feeding them stuff they already believe. That is like fighting cancer with HIV. Both are not good.

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Absolutely. But how do you claw back the trust? How do you get people to face the fact that for most stories, the truth lies somewhere in the middle between the two competing narratives? When they are so conditioned to turn away from sources that don't give them what they want, how do you keep their attention if you start trying to report truths instead of narratives?

As long as a dem is in office, ALL the """data""" we get from them is manipulated.

AggieVictor10 said:

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As long as a dem is in office, ALL the """data""" we get from them is manipulated.

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I am honest enough with myself to admit that D vs R has little difference. If Gov't is reporting it and it has the potential to sway voters, I consider it suspect.

Intentionally manipulated or not, they are not reliable. Biggest fraud is inflation rates that exclude many basic items, costs of which have skyrocketed far past Gov reports. Gov says these items are excluded because of price volatility. How about giving it to both ways? Gov does not want to say what we already know except for the number.
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So I looked up a Big Mac meal price in 2020 and 2024. $7.89 in 2020 and $12.00 now

52% inflation / 4 years = 13% inflation / year

The average American family buys fast food regularly and can see this. The data conveniently excludes food. I wonder why