Gossip And Elections

 

"Gossiping about others is an epidemic worse than the coronavirus," words of Pope Francis. Gossip destroys peace. It hurts the souls of those who put it in their mouths as well as those who hear it. Even knowing this, it is easy to fall into the temptation of gossip, so it spreads quickly like a virus. In a sermon, Pope Francis said that if you don't gossip you may become a saint. It's that difficult. "Don’t gossip" was also the first in "10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2014".

This presidential election is unusual. Disgusting gossip pours out, and incidents beyond our imagination continue to come out. There are profanities on the Internet that cannot be translated. With all eyes on the provocative stories, can the candidate's promises get attention?

Perhaps it's the digital world and the Internet that made the situation worse. The technology that has changed the lives of mankind fantastically is also a weapon if misused. Numerous cameras and recorders are used without hesitation, and some are abused. In some cases, the facts are distorted by 'evil editing', in which certain parts are intentionally edited in a recording or video. There is also concern about "deep fakes" based on artificial intelligence. A 'cheap fake' that is manipulated by simple computer technology is easily created. Digital gossip like this has already spread around for laughs.

The properties of digital are endless copying, reproduction, and rapid spread. Once on the Internet, it's there forever. It's repeated endlessly with the same image quality. Some are maliciously edited and floating around. According to the 2021 Media Audience Survey by the Korea Press Foundation, 69% of the respondents chose the Internet as the medium they rely on to learn about major issues. In particular, 94.9% of 19-29 year-olds use the Internet. I fear that the Internet, the highway for information, will become a gossip highway.

Elections are a war of words. It is easy to use gossip and lies when you fight not to die. It seems that the faults of a leading candidate and family in this election are not small;  they may be brushed off, inflated, and painted over. His ability to cover his eyes with words is amazing, but he also tells outright lies. If even a small number of voters fall for gossip, it affects the outcome of the election. Should a precious election be determined by gossip?

Candidates who repeat lies or gossip should be filtered out. If public opinion realizes the power they have, it will appear in the results of the polls and restrain candidates.

Media audiences need to develop media literacy, an ability to judge the media, to determine fake news. Social media such as YouTube, which is overly biased, needs care in accessing.

If an election is compared to a trial, the people, who are voters, are judges. To pass gossip on to a judge is to testify falsely. It influences good judgment and darkens the future for all of us. The gossip virus spreads easily during an election season. We need to be sensitive to false gossip, not to listen or spread it. "You must not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16).