Honest truth is hard to come by

HOW do you get your news? Is it from the radio, television or some other source? How do you make sense of what is being said?

Do you read daily or weekly newspapers? How much news do you gather via social media from the torrent flooding the various platforms?

Can you tell the difference between news and false news? Do you take note of the words being used?

So often words are chosen that lead people down very curious pathways. Is it a truth, a distorted truth, the spinning of a truth or simply an untruth? You make the choice!

How do you gather news about your local community?

Does the weekly Herald Express float your boat or do you find other sources? Perhaps the posting of comment or news links on social media offer satisfaction.

Truth is a fragile thing. My Twitter account (@franksobey) has the strap line “still seeking truth.”

I am of course and probably always will be. I remember reading a line from a song which rather confirmed that. The words spoken suggested that it sounded like the truth, but it’s not the truth today.

If you are a seeker of truth then the whole Brexit/Trump landscape must have you holding your head in your hands. Yet still it goes on month by month and day by day.

Donald Trump turned the world up- side down when he became the President of the United States. Never before has a person with such power used social media and Twitter in particular to cut across the traditional news channels.

The normal diplomatic process, which tends to be balanced and thoughtful, was suddenly overtaken by an endless stream of powerful tweets.

The thing about Twitter is that few words are used. A tweet tends to be nothing more than a sound bite. That means that the words tend to be open to interpretation.

When too few words are used then people tend to add more hoping for better meaning. That can distort what is actually being said. If the tweet/soundbite is shocking in some way then it is likely that millions will see it. If it is an untruth then the softer correction is likely to be seen by many less.

Trump is a powerful speaker and his attacks on what he calls the false news from CNN, is a worry. Few people will have missed the clash between Mr Trump and CNN’s Jim Acosta and it will probably go down in history. The first casualty it seems to me, in such a clash is truth. Fiery rhetoric too often tends to drown out important detail.

Politicians on both sides of the EU Referendum are guilty of spinning truth and in some cases simply telling porkies.

People like to believe what they are being told by their politicians. Is that too much to ask I wonder?

When truth is distorted or simply perverted then we all end up paying the price.

Sadly if the Brexit story continues the picking your way through the political detritus is almost hopelessly difficult. Even locally the truth can be somewhat elusive. Those skilled in the dark art of public speaking can ambush the innocent.

I remember being at a public meeting debating an important local issue. A question was asked about the issue that made everyone take note.

Before we could take another breath a local councillor came out with a statement that negated what had been said. His comment came with some powerful statistics that supported what he had to say. It is hard to argue with such a well presented truth.

I did make notes and the next day checked his argument detail and supporting statistics.

Needless to say is was a distortion of a truth rather than the truth! Meanwhile we continue to keep the

smile...