Man, if you'd have told me a few years ago that there would be public school programs in America meant to teach kids how to identify conspiracy theories and misinformation online I'd have told you first that you're absolutely right, they would do that, and second, that we need to stop it immediately before they introduce the idea.
Well, they've just introduced the idea in both New York and California, arguably two of the most unfree states in our nation, so by my standard we're already behind. For good measure, these programs exist in Texas, New Jersey, and Delaware as well.
We already showed you what's going on over in New York, so let's see what they're up to out in Cali.
"Media-literacy," sounds all nice and fluffy, doesn't it? Let's just see about that.
Beginning next year, California's public school students will be required to take media literacy courses that will help them identify fake news posted online while also being able to tell the difference between legitimate news articles and paid advertising.
The new instruction will slowly be integrated into the curriculum of students from kindergarten through high school under Assembly Bill 873, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October. Media literacy content will be included in English language arts, mathematics, science, history and social science curriculums.
As you can imagine, this law will most definitely be weaponized against those pesky right-wingers and their darn "fake news" and "conspiracy theories." Conspiracy theories that keep coming true, I might add. Quite literally, this law will be weaponized against truth, mark my words.
We are witnessing what some might call the beginning stages of the Ministry of Truth from Orwell's 1984. If the kids grow up on this "media-literacy" stuff, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll take a job in the Records Department in a heartbeat when the time comes.
Let's hear from the author of the bill, because I do think what he says is important here.
"Teaching media literacy is a key strategy to support our children, their families, and our society that are inundated with misinformation and disinformation on social media networks and digital platforms," said Berman. "We have a responsibility to teach the next generation to be more critical consumers of online content and more guarded against misinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories."
Just what kind of "misinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories" you talkin' about, Mr. Berman?
"As we've seen too often in the last decade, what happens online can have the most terrifying of real-world impacts," Berman said. "From climate denial to vaccine conspiracy theories to the Jan. 6 attack on our nation's Capitol, the spread of online misinformation has had global and deadly consequences."
Ahh, now I gotcha.
Climate denial - sin.
Vaccine hesitancy - sin.
Election denial, but only when Republicans lose - sin.
Actual January 6th security footage - probably also a sin.
These people are honestly targeting truth. That's all they're doing. Truths that don't fit the narrative need to be silenced, and it starts with indoctrinating the youth into assuming these things are all "misinformation" and "conspiracy theories," even "propaganda" from the beginning.
Nah, man. We ain't with that. And we'll definitely fight you on this one.
It'll be worse than the bathroom wars, worse than Critical Race Theory debates, worse than the vaccine mandates some of you tried but couldn't get us to budge on. You're gonna regret this one, I promise.
Real quick note on California before we depart.
The second-lowest literacy rate in the nation and now they want to teach kids how to read misinformation.
Get real!
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