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Opinion | In this summer of protests, Hongkongers must refuse to fall prey to misinformation
- Hong Kong is going through a divisive time and both mass and social media can concentrate feelings of hate and discrimination. It can be hard to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs
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The polarisation of society has historically led to mistrust, segregation and discrimination. Taking the mentality that you are either with us or against us makes it difficult to resolve any problem, especially when tensions run high.
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Confrontations in Hong Kong have certainly escalated quickly. The violent clashes in the northern town of Sha Tin on July 14 that sent at least 22 people to hospital now seems a distant memory. Since then, police have uncovered TATP explosives, the national emblem at the liaison office has been desecrated, and at least 45 people were injured by a white-clad mob armed with sticks and metal rods in Yuen Long.
We may feel the need to adopt a side to make sense of things. But we may then fall into the trap of having to adhere to the chosen side in the face of contradictory information. And when we take mental short cuts in our reasoning to quickly make sense of things, we do so at the risk of accuracy.
Such mental short cuts are often aided by a media outlet’s portrayal of a group or situation. Reporting may not always be factual and may cater to market audiences. Instead of maintaining conflict mitigation and social cohesion, some outlets may widen divisions in serving their agendas and commercial incentives.
These problems are compounded by people’s preference for information from outlets that align with their political views, and also by technology designed to deliver information that reinforce personal habits. Further dissemination of such information may obfuscate key issues and obscure the causes of real problems.
The problem is not limited to media outlets. Recently, two lawyers from different sides of the divide made remarks that appeared to condone the use of violence. But in a lawful society, violence should never be a solution and defending your home should be no excuse for violence either.
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