We are living in a day and age where we would like to think that we have factual information and diverse opinions that is readily accessible at the touch of our fingers. It used to be that the internet was a place to either find information, have some fun, find a date, do business, or make a purchase. While all of those things are still true, in more recent days it has become painfully clear that the internet has been manipulated into a weapon.

Dare I even say a weapon of mass destruction in some ways?

In recent years, it has become a fact that big tech has begun to use the internet to shape the minds of people. Google, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and others have gotten humanity addicted to their services and platforms, and much like a crack dealer – they are using the addiction to manipulate the masses. They are controlling the information that you have access to, and persuading you to continue to be enslaved to their thoughts, their morals, and their politics.

The rules of Big Tech leave no room for theories, or opinions that are contrary to what the individuals that control them believe. Common subjects that are banned are medical theories that do not like up with government recommendations (anti-vaxx, anything against big pharma, natural remedies, and more recently anything against certain coronavirus theories), historical accounts that do not line up with certain narratives, religious materials or discussions, and information advocating conservative morals.

As a web designer I can attest first hand to the decay and bias of Google’s algorithm, but you do not have to be a website designer to realize that. One recent example was where I was trying to find out the information for dosage of a medicine that used to be government approved for a particular illness. I went to Google, and all that Google would feed me was that the medicine was not approved for usage. I took the same exact search over to DuckDuckGo and the first result I got was the result that actually gave me the information I wanted. So you see, Google has taken it upon themselves to decide what information I should have access to, when really that is not their job, their job is to take my request for information, and to provide all possible answers it.

I understand that while some may think that it is harmless, and that Google is just looking out for me, the truth is that once you give an entity or person the ability to control the type of information you can receive, you give them permission to control you. We see this information control pattern repeated over and over again in big tech, and it just keeps getting worse – we live in a day and age that Twitter and Twitch is actually banning our president. Whether you like him or not – the fact that big tech and media so desires to control the information and opinions that we have access to should startle you – no matter which political or moral stance you take. We live in a country of free speech, and while monitoring and censorship may seem like a good idea to some, chances are that those people are assuming that censorship will always be in their favor. The truth is that censorship may start off in the favor of one group of people, but ultimately those who have tasted control will only appease their appetite with more and more control until inevitably one day that will silence all voices that are contrary to their own.

Filtering Through the Bias and Lies

I wanted to give a few tips on how you can process information in a way that actually allows you to filter through bias and lies.

1. Lay your emotions to the side. Emotions are not always bad, but they are easily manipulated, and are notorious for leading people to making poor decisions. The media relies on this simple fact to control people, if they can cause you to have fear, or be angry through their narrative, they can cause you to react in a way that they desire. Remember, if you control your emotions, then you control your response. If others control your emotions, they control your actions as well.
2. Understand that things are rarely what they seem to be. Especially on social media. 1 minute videos are clipped to show you 15 seconds of interaction (that is usually geared to provoke an extremely emotional reaction) and you literally do not know what led up to or followed the point of conflict that is being displayed. Someone else has chosen to completely remove the context and therefore have shown you a half truth – aka lie. Take the time to research further a clip or photo that triggers an emotional response in you. Even ‘live’ videos are not always live, there are actual programs that you can run a video through and make it appear as though it is streaming live on social media.
3. Realize that if it is electronic, it can be manipulated. We live in a day and age where all of the things that we used to be able to count on to be evidence of truth, are no longer immune from manipulation. Photos can be photoshopped, videos manipulated and at any given point someone could create a graphic by taking your Facebook profile picture, they can add a lewd comment next to it using the same font that Facebook does, and use it against you as a smear campaign. Again, do not take images as evidence. Research and look for several sources that are generally unbiased to provide facts about what you came across.
4. Think through theories, and look at history. When forming important stances such as morals and politics, it is crucial that you don’t just go with the online mobs in these instances. Mobs generally are ruled by emotions or selfishness. Challenge yourself by looking through the lense of history, researching leaders, and their past leadership stances. Very rarely is there ever anything new under the sun – history repeats itself and is one of the best teachers.
5. Think about future consequences. The path you choose today will dictate the paths that open up in the future. If we as a people choose to allow some censorship today, we are allowing censorship to multiply in the future. If we allow killing innocent life, we open up the pathway that says that humanity should be able to decide who lives and who dies. In each new generation we get to plant new thoughts, and principles – we should understand that they will multiply. On a personal level, your response online can cause you issues in the future with jobs, relationships and more. Keep in mind that you cannot safely assume that anything you put on the internet is ever really deleted.
6. Engage in critical thinking. Most people today get emotionally triggered and go straight into a neverending blame game, but that is not what a healthy or productive though process looks like. You can narrow down critical thinking into 4 basic steps:
   1. Ask Questions
   2. Seek Information
   3. Analyze with an Open Mind
   4. Communicate Solutions
7. Engage in prayer and ask for discernment. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth that will lead you to all truth. Do not underestimate the power of supernatural discernment or giftings to lead you in your quest for truth.

Places online that you can find alternative information.

So having stated all of the above, I wanted to give a few resources outside of the big tech companies where you can find more diverse information so that you can come to your own conclusions. By you even installing these apps on your phone and giving them positive ratings, or purchasing from these companies, you are sending a signal to big tech that you are demanding your freedom and privacy.

Parler – Parler is a social media app that claims that they do not censor speech, The only things that they remove are things that are deemed illegal by law.

DuckDuckGo – A search engine app that touts its respect for your privacy, and I have found that in general it gives excellent search results when you are trying to find facts related to political records, religion, medical advice and more.

Conservapedia – Their tagline is ‘The Trustworthy Encyclopedia’

The Epoch Times – You can find factual news coverage here, as well as stories that are overlooked by traditional media. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing or ‘buying them a coffee‘ to support their work.

eBooks.com – An Amazon Kindle Store /Ebook alternative. I have not used this one much but I did find some titles on it that covered controversial topics that were not on Amazon, though the authors had other books on Amazon. This leads me to conclude that there is a high possibility that some books that are normally censored on Amazon are allowed on eBooks.com.

I pray that your search for truth and solutions brings about freedom and blessings for you, as well as others. We have to take it upon ourselves to think clearly through the current mainstream muck, and forge a way into a better tomorrow where all voices are heard.