[antimedia] antimedia: News cycles, light speed and accuracy....

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Posted by antimedia:
News cycles, light speed and accuracy....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1158728033.shtml


   ....I got home tonight about 10PM. After taking care of a problem with
   my daughter's computer, I logged in to check my blog persona email. A
   source I have inside of Thailand had emailed me at 7:33PM (8:33AM
   Wednesday in Thailand) this evening that there was a possible coup in
   Thailand. The email was updated twice before it was sent, and it was
   obvious that the information from inside Thailand was confusing. At
   10:29PM this evening I had gotten a second email clarifying that there
   was a successful coup involving the military while the PM was out of
   the country. (Now I'm watching Craig Ferguson, and he just made a joke
   about the coup!)
   Thinking it was breaking information, I checked the internet. Nope!
   The [1]Boston Globe and [2]CNN already had the story.
   This sparks all sorts of thoughts for me.
   First, what does it say about the coup that the western media has the
   story before the local people know what's going on? In this modern
   age, perception is everything. Obviously, the coup leaders felt it was
   important to get the word out to the world before getting it out to
   their own people. Local tv stations were showing pictures of the king
   and playing music until 7AM Bangkok time.
   Second, how do we know that what the western media has is really
   accurate if it's being fed by the leaders of the coup? We all know how
   the first story that's told becomes "the truth" no matter what the
   facts later reveal. Have we arrived at the point where what you are
   told is "more true" that what really happened simply because "you
   heard it here first"? Are we headed toward a time when coups occur in
   "cyberspace" and everyone simply accepts it, negating the need for
   actually staging a coup in real life?
   Or am I just so tired that I'm not thinking clearly?

References

   1. http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/09/19/rumors_of_a_coup_sweep_through_bangkok/
   2. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html