Who should we believe in? Certainly not in the candidates of all stripes who will appear in the elections that will be held in the remainder of this year, 2024, in so many countries throughout the planet. There is too much at stake. So much so that it is difficult to imagine to what extent. But we have come this far and one would like to believe that we still have time to save, if nothing else, the furniture, that democracy will prevail, that in the end everything will be fine and our comfortable although complicated lives will not be affected too much.
Where before a couple of well-placed lies were sneaked into an electoral campaign, now what is really difficult is to slip in even one sad truth, because it usually hurts and scares away votes, and that’s not true. So let’s all lie like scoundrels. And to insult and slander.
At the end of January, the European External Action Service (EEAS) made a call against disinformation that does so much damage to us all and that can even endanger the integrity and security of the European Union, since it is already “a of the great battles of our time.” Never before had information been manipulated to such an extreme, if nothing else because previous generations did not have the internet or social networks like we do, not to mention the speed with which all information circulates, starting with fake or hate news. , which are the ones that sweep away.
It is not just a question of how little we know about what is really happening in Ukraine or Gaza, let alone in Russia, China, North Korea or in the head of Donald Trump, but that disinformation is undermining our own institutions, about which we know less and less, if we ever understand anything.
Everything indicates that electoral manipulation, wherever it comes from, is the order of the day, also in Europe. Polarization is worsening everywhere, leading to a growing sense of insecurity. But if now they only bombard us from everywhere and at all hours with disinformation, the suspicion is increasing that tomorrow they will do it with missiles and drones.
In fact, after warning us of the danger posed by such a proliferation of disinformation, the EU has announced that the time has come to invest more, much more in defense, in view of the challenges we face, as well as the uncertain future of the NATO, especially if Trump returned to the White House.
Trump has already told Putin that he can do whatever he wants with NATO member countries that are not investing what they should in defense, that is, 2% of GDP, as is the case of Spain and many others. Ah, if it were only 2%: because years ago Trump already maliciously demanded that this figure be increased to 4%, as it would be an excellent way to seriously damage or even put an end to the welfare state that the EU enjoys, but It’s been watering for a long time. Hence the privatizations that are usually carried out at night, wrapped in a cloud of misinformation.
The world is armed. Societies are divided. Politics is polarized. Liberal democracy is no longer what it was, starting with elections that are known to be manipulated or, in more and more cases, contested. At this point, a confrontation seems inevitable. It could be at the local level, national level, between blocks, or all against all.
Let’s hope that it’s not going to happen, that the storm runs out before causing too much damage. But no matter what happens, we can be sure of one thing: that no one will tell us the truth. Not even artificial intelligence, which will surely have already learned to lie better than any human being. Difficult times lie ahead, especially if we are not able or even willing to defend ourselves against so many threats. Attila prepares her horse.
