This stops misinformation in its tracks
What is needed is for the online reader to be able to instantly determine whether the claims/assertions/purported quotes she is reading are factual.
To that end I propose a "Wiki" like tool which would enable the "wisdom of the crowd" to review web articles/interviews/columns and place links to originating documents, previous interviews, etc. around any highlighted piece of material.
No opinion, just links to objective fact.
Obviously, the program would require that the reader download it, and have it running in the background any time she is reading online. I shouldn't say obviously since I have zero tech chops, and no idea if this idea is technologically feasible (there are dictionary programs out there that do something like this for individual words or phrases).
What I am certain of is the willingness of an army of smart folks to do the legwork of tracking and linking, and that the general reader would be thankful for, and well served by the service.
Oh, and I'm sure that we could eventually find a place for blogy opinion on the links if the reader chooses to enable that option. My default cautionary stance around this stems from a fervent desire to see a re-emergence of simple fact in our public dialogue.
Thoughts? Is this possible? Is it already being done somewhere?
To that end I propose a "Wiki" like tool which would enable the "wisdom of the crowd" to review web articles/interviews/columns and place links to originating documents, previous interviews, etc. around any highlighted piece of material.
No opinion, just links to objective fact.
Obviously, the program would require that the reader download it, and have it running in the background any time she is reading online. I shouldn't say obviously since I have zero tech chops, and no idea if this idea is technologically feasible (there are dictionary programs out there that do something like this for individual words or phrases).
What I am certain of is the willingness of an army of smart folks to do the legwork of tracking and linking, and that the general reader would be thankful for, and well served by the service.
Oh, and I'm sure that we could eventually find a place for blogy opinion on the links if the reader chooses to enable that option. My default cautionary stance around this stems from a fervent desire to see a re-emergence of simple fact in our public dialogue.
Thoughts? Is this possible? Is it already being done somewhere?
