Ex-Google engineer Tristan Harris warned that people “don’t realize there’s entire teams of engineers whose job is to use your psychology against you.” The consequences of this are not only personal but also geopolitical. Just this month, Romania’s supreme court cancelled the final round of the country’s presidential election, alleging illegal campaign financing and foreign interference, after a little-known anti-NATO far-right candidate was propelled to the top of the polls with the help of social media platform TikTok:
“Georgescu blindsided Romania’s political establishment after a TikTok-driven social-media campaign propelled him from obscurity and prompted accusations of Kremlin interference. The top court’s decision to scrap the presidential contest and order a repeat have compounded the chaos, with Romania’s ruling parties grappling with what to do next…
For political scientist Claudiu Craciun, who called the election upset a ‘digital coup,’ it reflects the nature of the vote, which was motivated mainly by a more passive anti-elite sentiment.
For now, the rise of a candidate who cuts a messianic pose as he peddles conspiracy theories has delivered a jolt to Romania’s main parties” (Romania Is Out to Prove Its Election Was Worth Cancelling, Bloomberg — 10-Dec-2024).
Romania’s crisis exposes the power of social media in harnessing moral outrage to spread misinformation and form the opinion of a public that distrusts both institutions and elites. For those using social media, including video-sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok, it has been observed that “…we spend our lives dancing to the tune of algorithms that reward fury and penalize mercy.” 1
A similar situation transpired in Brazil in 2018 when Jair Bolsonaro, a marginal figure, harnessed the power of social media with a limited traditional media presence and was elected president:
“When Bolsonaro unexpectedly won the presidency, his supporters chanted ‘Facebook! Facebook! Facebook!’ They knew what the algorithms had done for them.” 2
The power of social media to influence the masses was fully realized during the Arab Spring uprising beginning in 2011. Due to this influence being manipulated, some platforms have been banned by governments (fully or partially) for varying periods due to fear of their impact on society. The Chinese-owned social video-sharing platform TikTok has been restricted or banned in some countries, not only out of data privacy concerns but also “to curb the spread of misinformation and harmful content.” The US government has passed laws out of concern that the platform could “influence Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content” (AP News, 26-Apr-2024). The platform is banned in China, and it always has been.
Danger of social media business models
What is behind this phenomenon? At least in part, it is the consequence of social media companies having a business model that is entirely reliant upon advertising revenue, which in turn requires maximizing users’ on-screen time to grow market share (“if you are not paying for the product, you are the product!”)—even if it means sacrificing truth and promoting lies:
“…Notice that the important question for the algorithms—human operators are not involved in this process—is what the user seems to be interested in, determined by how much time he or she spends in reading about or looking at a particular subject. Whether the information the user receives is factual or truthful is not the responsibility or the purpose of the algorithm; it is designed only to keep the attention of the user by continuing to supply the information in which the viewer has been found to be interested” (The Hill, 01-Nov-2021).
When the message or outcome validates our thinking, we are not inclined to fact-check as closely as we might if the message contradicts our view. As we saw in a prior article (Reclaiming Focus in an Age of Distraction, June 2024), tech companies are learning our personal triggers from our past behaviour and exploiting them. This exploitation includes the use of rage-driven algorithms that have been proven to trigger a state of vigilance in our brains to watch for danger, impeding our ability to pay attention—we think shallower and less attentively:
“Scientists… have discovered that if I make you angry, you will pay less attention to the quality of arguments around you, and you will show ‘decreased depth of processing’—that is, you will think in a shallower, less attentive way…
These sites make you feel that you are in an environment full of anger and hostility, so you become more vigilant—a situation where more of your attention shifts to searching for dangers, and less and less is available for slower forms of focus like reading a book or playing with your kids…
At the moment false claims spread on social media far faster than the truth, because of the algorithms that spread outraging material faster and farther. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that fake news travels six times faster on Twitter than real news, and …flat-out falsehoods on Facebook outperformed all the top stories at nineteen mainstream news sites put together…
If we are lost in lies, and constantly riled up to be angry with our fellow citizens, this sets off a chain reaction. It means we can’t understand what is really going on…” 3
In a state of anger and shallow thinking, we tend to stick to firmly held positions, disregarding opposing information and failing to exercise critical thinking. Therefore, we only evaluate counter-arguments at face value and become susceptible to conspiracy theories and other false ideas. Online, we can become distracted by a barrage of lies and miss what is important.
The mistake of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day was to fail to recognize the signs of the times, that judgment upon the temple and Jerusalem was imminent because they did not know the time of their visitation (Luke 19:39,41-44). In their self-righteous anger, they ignored the word of God’s prophets and were blinded by their envy and love of position—which, to maintain it, they would sacrifice truth and commit murder:
“Are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:23-24).
“If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:48).
There is a real danger that we, the watchmen of Zion, become engulfed in a virtual fog and miss the true signs of our times that God has given us through His prophets. We can easily become distracted by all kinds of outrageous issues, which, even if they are legitimate, are not the important issues God has warned us about (many of which are highlighted by this magazine).
Given this danger of distraction, we must be aware of how easily we can be manipulated, including by video-sharing platforms like TikTok and YouTube:
“Just like Facebook, YouTube makes more money the longer you watch. That’s why they designed it so that when you stop watching one video, it automatically recommends and plays another one for you. How are those videos selected? YouTube has an algorithm—and it too has figured out that you’ll keep watching longer if you see things that are outrageous, shocking, and extreme…
If you watched a factual video about the Holocaust, it would recommend several more videos, each one getting more extreme, and within a chain of five or so videos, it would usually end up automatically playing a video denying the Holocaust happened… It was simply selecting whatever would most shock and compel people to watch longer. Tristan started to look into this, and concluded: ‘No matter where you start, you end up more crazy.’
It turned out, as Guillaume leaked to Tristan, that YouTube had recommended videos by Alex Jones and his website Infowars 15 billion times. Jones is a vicious conspiracy theorist who has claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was faked, and that the grieving parents are liars whose children never even existed. As a result, some of those parents have been inundated with death threats and have had to flee their homes.” 4
Jones and those like him have the assistance of algorithms that favour promoting outrageous and extreme content to convince people with their fake narratives.
We can find many examples of surprisingly popular conspiracy beliefs actively promoted on social media. The following are from a July 2021 paper, citing a national US survey, which reported that respondents believed:
There is a ‘deep state’ embedded in the government that operates in secret and without oversight (43%).
A powerful [Jewish] family, the Rothschilds, through their wealth, controls governments, wars, and many countries’ economies (29%).
The dangers of 5G cellphone technology are being covered up (26%)—5G towers were set on fire in the UK due to this false belief.
Examples from more recent Leger market research conducted in Canada and the US (published November 2023):
Humans have made contact with aliens and this fact has been deliberately hidden from the public (for ages 18-34, 53% in the US, 38% in Canada).
Scientists have found a cure for cancer, but the government and pharmaceutical companies withhold it (for ages 35-54, 46% in US, 39% in Canada).
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 were planned by the government (for ages 18-34, 37% in the US, 26% in Canada).
Several conspiracies, or other variations on them not quoted here, implicate Israel or the Jews. Most recently, narratives accusing Israel of genocide have been supported by mainstream politicians and organizations in the absence of any proof. The Pope has added fuel to the fire, suggesting Israel should be investigated for genocide, and now the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and prior Defence Minister alleging war crimes.
The UK’s Telegraph had the following headline, (14-Dec-2024) “Number of civilians killed in Gaza ‘inflated to vilify Israel’ with subheading, “Researchers accuse Gaza ministry of health of overstating casualty data.” The researchers claim that natural deaths have been included in casualty figures, including some that occurred before the war. Male adult deaths have also allegedly been recorded as deaths of women and children. Is it any wonder that we have seen antisemitism growing exponentially since October 7, 2023? We should expect that social media has played a role in spreading this kind of misinformation about Israel and the Jews, which in turn has fueled anger and protests.
The Vatican & the Media
Recognizing that society “is increasingly conditioned by media,” the Catholic Church implemented a successful strategy through The Second Vatican Council directing that “A national office for the communications media should be set up in every country.” These offices would work together to raise funding and orchestrate training of priests and lay members of the Church to be experts in all areas of “social communication,” to “understand how public opinion and popular attitudes come into being.” The Vatican has successfully exerted its influence in this way, including through the press, motion pictures, broadcasting, and now the Internet and social media:
“The Church welcomes and promotes with special interest those [technological discoveries] which have a most direct relation to men’s minds and which have uncovered new avenues of communicating most readily news, views and teachings of every sort. The most important of these inventions are those media which, such as the press, movies, radio, television and the like, can, of their very nature, reach and influence, not only individuals, but the very masses and the whole of human society, and thus can rightly be called the media of social communication…
Importantly, laymen ought to be afforded technical, doctrinal and moral training. For this purpose, the number of school faculties and institutes should be increased, where newsmen, writers for screen, radio and television and all other interested parties can obtain a sound training that is imbued with the Christian [i.e. Catholic] spirit, especially with respect to the social teaching of the Church” (Decree on the Media of Social Communications, Inter Mirifica—1963).
This influence was to be encouraged and facilitated through Catholic education and brought to bear through the Church’s representatives involved in both private and public media. Therefore, the selection and writing of public and private news stories, as well as the production of media, would be supportive of the Vatican’s objectives:
“Moreover, as members of companies or organizations without religious affiliations, they will bring to the fore a Christian [i.e. Catholic] point of view on all questions that exercise men in society. They can help news editors and newscasters not to overlook news items about religious life which will interest their audience…
As representatives of the Church, bishops, priests, religious and laity are increasingly asked to write in the press or appear on radio and television or to collaborate in filming. They are warmly urged to undertake this work, which has consequences that are far more important than is usually imagined…
If students for the priesthood and religious in training wish to be part of modern life and also to be at all effective in their apostolate [i.e. an organization directed to evangelize the world], they should know how the media work upon the fabric of society and the technique of their use. This knowledge should be an integral part of their ordinary education. Indeed without this knowledge an effective apostolate is impossible in a society which is increasingly conditioned by the media. It is also desirable that priests and religious understand how public opinion and popular attitudes come into being so that they can suit both the situation and the people of their time…” (Pastoral Instruction, Communio et Progressio on the Means of Social Communication, written by order of The Second Vatican Council—1971).
This strategy has been effective. Perhaps one of the best and most well-known examples was “The Holy Alliance” between Ronald Reagan and John Paul II, which brought about the fall of communism in Poland in the 1980s. The communication capabilities of the Vatican were key to the success of this operation:
“The operation was focused on Poland, the most populous of the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe and the birthplace of John Paul II. Both the Pope and the President were convinced that Poland could be broken out of the Soviet orbit if the Vatican and the U.S. committed their resources to destabilizing the Polish government and keeping the outlawed Solidarity movement alive after the declaration of martial law in 1981.
Until Solidarity’s legal status was restored in 1989 it flourished underground, supplied, nurtured and advised largely by the network established under the auspices of Reagan and John Paul II... Money for the banned union came from CIA funds, the National Endowment for Democracy, secret accounts in the Vatican and Western trade unions…
Because the communists had cut the direct phone lines between Poland and the Vatican, John Paul II communicated with Jozef Cardinal Glemp in Warsaw via radio. He also dispatched his envoys to Poland to report on the situation. ‘The Vatican’s information was absolutely better and quicker than ours in every respect,’ says Haig. ‘Though we had some excellent sources of our own, our information was taking too long to filter through the intelligence bureaucracy’…
The key Administration players were all devout Roman Catholics — CIA chief William Casey, Allen, Clark, Haig, Walters and William Wilson, Reagan’s first ambassador to the Vatican” (TIME, The Holy Alliance: Ronald Reagan and John Paul II – February 24, 1992).
The Vatican evolves its methods
We should expect that the Vatican continues to further its objectives with equivalent methods today (assisted by sympathetic Catholic politicians). The Vatican has continued to evolve its social communications teaching and strategy as technology has developed, first for the Internet (where she has called for governments to enforce limits on “hate” speech):
“Among the specific problems presented by the Internet is the presence of hate sites devoted to defaming and attacking religious and ethnic groups. Some of these target the Catholic Church… And while respect for free expression may require tolerating even voices of hatred up to a point, industry self-regulation—and, where required, intervention by public authority—should establish and enforce reasonable limits to what can be said” (Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Ethics in Communications—2000).
This might sound reasonable; however, as we may have observed, it results in messages which oppose the accepted agenda being shut down online and in the media.
Training was to be provided to enable leveraging this new media development:
“In the age of the Internet, with its enormous outreach and impact, the need is more urgent than ever. Catholic universities, colleges, schools, and educational programs at all levels should provide courses for various groups—‘seminarians, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay leaders...teachers, parents, and students’—as well as more advanced training in communications technology, management, ethics, and policy issues for individuals preparing for professional media work or decision-making roles, including those who work in social communications for the Church” (Pontifical Council for Social Communications, The Church and Internet —2002).
The Vatican has been active on social media since at least 2012, officially posting “about once a day in nine languages.” Last year, the Vatican’s “social communication” strategy was formally expanded to provide guidance on leveraging social media for social action and creating counter-narrative stories:
“Social action mobilized through social media has had a greater impact and is often more effective in transforming the world than a superficial debate regarding ideas…
Social media can become an opportunity to share stories and experiences… A good reason to tell a story is to respond to people who question our message or our mission. Creating a counter-narrative can be more effective in replying to a hateful comment than answering with an argument…” (Dicastery for Communication, Towards Full Presence, A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media—2023).
As the Pope calls for Israel to be investigated for genocide, we must assume that the Vatican’s influence has been brought to bear in supporting the mobilization of social action through protests to aid the Palestinians over the past year.
The Vatican is well organized to reach young people through social media networks, for example, as it has done to campaign through official Facebook and Instagram accounts for World Youth Day (WYD).
Influencing platforms
As the adoption of artificial intelligence was rapidly taking off last year, the Vatican identified this technology as another area where her influence should be brought to bear. A call to action was expressed in a footnote to the recently published paper, Towards Full Presence, quoted above:
“…who will set the sources from which AI systems learn? Who funds these new producers of public opinion? How can we ensure that those who design the algorithms are guided by ethical principles and help spread globally a new awareness and critical thinking to minimize harm in the new information platforms?”
We can be certain that the Vatican will be working to have its people involved in the design of these algorithms to ensure that its “ethical principles” are implemented in the next generation of media platforms.
As we consider these things, we turn to the word of God to see the world through the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his last message to us, in the Revelation, we are warned what it is that we should be concerned about in our day. Rather than the various social issues raised on social media, it is the global influence and teachings of madness that emanated out of the French Revolution and that today come out of Russia, Europe, and the Roman Catholic system—that great city, the false prophet—that should be our primary concern:
“I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief…” (ch. 16:13-15).
The Lord calls us to keep alert to these dangers he has warned us about. So then, we must take steps to guard ourselves and our families from being distracted by the division and corruption in the world around us and to focus on busying ourselves with preparing for the coming of our King.
Footnotes
(1-4) Stolen Focus, Johann Hari (2022) – This book contains offensive content and is not recommended for general reading.