ANTOUN SEHNAOUI TRAPPED IN A SOCIETY OF RUMORS
After having lived abroad for 18 years , in societies where people used to mind their own business, rather than entertain themselves with mean, reputation damaging rumors and silly gossips, I was amazed to find out upon my arrival to Beirut, and shortly after settling in my country, how, we, the Lebanese community, are at so much ease to fabricate wicked stories and spread unchecked tales, hence rumors. I also noticed an absurd yet funny fact: since no one likes to be perceived as a "gossiper", we often relay false news or unchecked stories under the banner of "sharing"; and as such, the 'rumor spreader' always feels the need to remind the listener, while revealing the sensational and personal facts collected about someone, that he/she are only 'sharing' these stories with friends, and mean no harm nor do they intend to damage anyone's reputation. They're only 'sharing' what he/she had 'heard.
So, I've decided that under this same "sharing" banner, I will remain talkative and intend to keep on revealing my thoughts on various issues--one of which will be the subject of today's post: On Rumors-- in relation to the action scene that took place a few months ago at the Maison Blanche night club. Indeed, the shooting incident that involved two reputed young Lebanese-- Antoun Sehnaoui, CEO of SGBL and a well known businessman with Mazen El Zein, an entrepreneur who owns several well known night venues in town-- is still fresh news till date, surfacing again with the court case implicating OTV,--Michel Aoun's official tube that works as the channel for the Tayyar party to make noise and shoot their propaganda--, and Sehnaoui accusing the latter of defamation. It didn't take OTV and the tayyar people to relaunch a war of words on Antoun Sehanoui.
As a matter of fact, I firmly believe the incident's aftermath managed to highlight paramount grotesque characteristics relative to us, Lebanese people, as it brought forth the serious defects encrusted within our society. Quite alarming stuff when viewed from a new perspective; one that puts the very fight and all rivalry aside for a while, to dig deeper and try to understand what made the Maison Blanche story amplify and take such an ugly detour where the damaging and tarnishing of reputations was clearly set as a mission.
For now, I would like to share this book with those who are keen not to live in a chaotic city and whoever happen to drop by a Beirut Kayoed with the bad, the good and the ugly.
How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done (http://www.amazon.com/Rumors-Falsehoods-Spread-Believe-Them/dp/0809094738)
By Cass R. Sunstein Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Oct. 11, 2009
Some Extra Info On i Would like to Share on the book:
This small book has two goals. The first is to answer these questions:
Why do ordinary human beings accept rumors, even false, destructive, and bizarre ones? Why do some groups, and even nations, accept rumors that other groups and nations deem preposterous?
The second is to answer this question: What can we do to protect ourselves against the harmful effects of false rumors?
Rumors are nearly as old as human history, but with the rise of the Internet, they have become ubiquitous. In fact we are now awash in them. False rumors are especially troublesome; they impose real damage on individuals and institutions, and they often resist correction. They can threaten careers, policies, public officials, and sometimes even democracy itself. Many of the most pervasive rumors involve famous people in politics and entertainment. Others involve companies, large and small. Still others involve people who are not at all in the public eye. All of us are potential victims of rumors, including false and vicious ones.
Why do rumors start? Why do some rumors obtain large audiences while other rumors fall from their own (lack of) weight?
One of the author major goals here is to sketch the mechanisms that lie behind false rumors-their propagation, their transmission, and their entrenchment.
Rumors often arise and gain traction because they fit with, and support, the prior convictions of those who accept them. Some people and some communities are predisposed to accept certain rumors, because those rumors are compatible with their self-interest, mindset, or with what they think they know to be true.
Many of those who seek to spread rumors have an intuitive awareness of those mechanisms; sometimes their understanding is highly sophisticated. Many propagators know exactly what they are doing. Indeed, rumors are often initiated by self-conscious propagators, who may or may not believe the rumors that they spread.
Through this insightful analytical essay on the underlying mechanisms inherent to rumors and the exploration of what rumor propagators are made of and their diverse motivations, Cass R. Sunstein tries to explore ways to discourage the harmful effects of false rumors in societies. He does so by what social scientists call debiasing-in this case, through an improved understanding of how information spreads. That understanding might lead us to be more cautious in accepting false rumors, dealing with fabricated stories, distorted and harmful claims; and in the process, helps to create a kind of culture that avoids injury or even destruction to personal lives and valuable institutions, both large and small, while
A must-read book if we wish to ensure that the fear of rumors' chilling effect does not itself have a chilling effect on our country, public discussion or on our practices within the society..
Tina Harb.................
So, I've decided that under this same "sharing" banner, I will remain talkative and intend to keep on revealing my thoughts on various issues--one of which will be the subject of today's post: On Rumors-- in relation to the action scene that took place a few months ago at the Maison Blanche night club. Indeed, the shooting incident that involved two reputed young Lebanese-- Antoun Sehnaoui, CEO of SGBL and a well known businessman with Mazen El Zein, an entrepreneur who owns several well known night venues in town-- is still fresh news till date, surfacing again with the court case implicating OTV,--Michel Aoun's official tube that works as the channel for the Tayyar party to make noise and shoot their propaganda--, and Sehnaoui accusing the latter of defamation. It didn't take OTV and the tayyar people to relaunch a war of words on Antoun Sehanoui.
As a matter of fact, I firmly believe the incident's aftermath managed to highlight paramount grotesque characteristics relative to us, Lebanese people, as it brought forth the serious defects encrusted within our society. Quite alarming stuff when viewed from a new perspective; one that puts the very fight and all rivalry aside for a while, to dig deeper and try to understand what made the Maison Blanche story amplify and take such an ugly detour where the damaging and tarnishing of reputations was clearly set as a mission.
For now, I would like to share this book with those who are keen not to live in a chaotic city and whoever happen to drop by a Beirut Kayoed with the bad, the good and the ugly.
How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done (http://www.amazon.com/Rumors-Falsehoods-Spread-Believe-Them/dp/0809094738)
By Cass R. Sunstein Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Oct. 11, 2009
Some Extra Info On i Would like to Share on the book:
This small book has two goals. The first is to answer these questions:
Why do ordinary human beings accept rumors, even false, destructive, and bizarre ones? Why do some groups, and even nations, accept rumors that other groups and nations deem preposterous?
The second is to answer this question: What can we do to protect ourselves against the harmful effects of false rumors?
Rumors are nearly as old as human history, but with the rise of the Internet, they have become ubiquitous. In fact we are now awash in them. False rumors are especially troublesome; they impose real damage on individuals and institutions, and they often resist correction. They can threaten careers, policies, public officials, and sometimes even democracy itself. Many of the most pervasive rumors involve famous people in politics and entertainment. Others involve companies, large and small. Still others involve people who are not at all in the public eye. All of us are potential victims of rumors, including false and vicious ones.
Why do rumors start? Why do some rumors obtain large audiences while other rumors fall from their own (lack of) weight?
One of the author major goals here is to sketch the mechanisms that lie behind false rumors-their propagation, their transmission, and their entrenchment.
Rumors often arise and gain traction because they fit with, and support, the prior convictions of those who accept them. Some people and some communities are predisposed to accept certain rumors, because those rumors are compatible with their self-interest, mindset, or with what they think they know to be true.
Many of those who seek to spread rumors have an intuitive awareness of those mechanisms; sometimes their understanding is highly sophisticated. Many propagators know exactly what they are doing. Indeed, rumors are often initiated by self-conscious propagators, who may or may not believe the rumors that they spread.
Through this insightful analytical essay on the underlying mechanisms inherent to rumors and the exploration of what rumor propagators are made of and their diverse motivations, Cass R. Sunstein tries to explore ways to discourage the harmful effects of false rumors in societies. He does so by what social scientists call debiasing-in this case, through an improved understanding of how information spreads. That understanding might lead us to be more cautious in accepting false rumors, dealing with fabricated stories, distorted and harmful claims; and in the process, helps to create a kind of culture that avoids injury or even destruction to personal lives and valuable institutions, both large and small, while
A must-read book if we wish to ensure that the fear of rumors' chilling effect does not itself have a chilling effect on our country, public discussion or on our practices within the society..
Tina Harb.................
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