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Trust, but Verify

In an age where information is abundant yet its veracity is often questionable, the old Russian saying “Trust, but verify” becomes increasingly relevant. I reflect on the challenges of discerning truth in modern times, drawing parallels between historical figures and current events. Critiquing the role of major information platforms like Google and YouTube, which have shifted from trusted sources to purveyors of disinformation.
I see importance in critical thinking and skepticism, both in media consumption and within the workplace. I urge you to sift through misinformation to uncover reality. Learn to skillfully navigate information mazes.

This is an old Russian saying, which, if said in Russian, rhymes. (Доверяй, но проверяй). No, I’m not Russian, but I like the saying because it helps us in modern life. This is because it’s hard to know what the “truth” is today. 

I see these protests at colleges where students actually support terrorists and I just don’t understand it. I wonder if this is like when people supported Hitler or Stalin or Mao Zedong. I remember when Jane Fonda went to Communist Vietnam and how that seemed so wrong. On the other hand, the truth about all of this eventually came out. Hitler was killing Jews, Stalin and Mao killed mostly their own countrymen, and Jane Fonda was trying to help. There is a good article about who killed more people, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler here.

While this seems to be the focus of most of what we do today, it’s not always done, unless you work for a company that has systems in place to validate everything you do. I think in our lives we try to do this, but how do you verify? 

To verify, you probably go to Google or YouTube, but is that correct? How do you know? Do you trust Google, who also owns YouTube? They only use the information that they’re fed. This is the problem. 

When I was growing up, we had family, friends, newspapers, books, and school. We would watch the news on TV and trust it. That seemed to be how we learned about the world. The news was our connection beyond our local lives. 

We trusted what we read and were told. We were horrified when we found out someone lied to us. As we got older, we got better at detecting bullshit, but still fell for the occasional scam. 

Then we got Google and YouTube, 2 information sources I used to trust so much 10 years ago I would call them Uncle Google and Aunt YouTube. Unfortunately, Alphabet Inc, the owner of both Google and YouTube has really changed their business model. We hear so much criticism of X formerly Twitter yet Google and YouTube pump more crap towards us that is just wrong. They advertise more than ever and have truly become monopolies in disinformation.

This disinformation is often sent to us as news. We now have to critique every story. We have to become our own editors and try to disseminate reality through all the fiction slamming us in the eyeballs. 

Even the companies we work for have agendas. We have to look past all the propaganda they push to their workers. They are often telling their stories and trying to convince the workers of this or that. Again, trust but verify. Don’t confuse what they say with what you see around you. Easier said than done.  

So, we have to trust but verify. We have to sift through all the bullshit and try to see the reality. It’s not easy, is it? Of course not.

All we can do is hope our kids are better at it. When I think they are, I see protests that promote genocide, and that’s when I lost faith in humanity. 

I wish we could find balance and start caring for one another again. If only we could get back to that. Today, we must trust but verify most everything. It gets exhausting!

“Trust, but Verify”: Looking at it another way.

In the vibrant halls of academia, protests echo with voices that sometimes align with the infamous. It’s a perplexing sight, reminiscent of historical support for figures like Hitler, Stalin, or Mao Zedong. The echoes of Jane Fonda’s controversial visit to Vietnam still reverberate, a stark reminder that the truth unfolds in chapters, often posthumously. These figures, now etched in history for their atrocities, once commanded legions of followers, blinded by propaganda or swayed by charisma.

The corporate world isn’t immune to this phenomenon, with systems designed to validate actions, yet the question remains, how does one verify? We turn to Google or YouTube, titans of information, but even they are not infallible. They are conduits for the data they’re fed, and therein lies the quandary.

Growing up, our world was smaller, our sources fewer, we relied on family, friends, newspapers, books, and the trusted evening news. These were the pillars of our understanding, the narrators of the world beyond our doorstep. We placed our trust in these sources, and the sting of deception was a harsh lesson in skepticism.

As the digital age dawned, Google and YouTube became the new oracles, affectionately dubbed Uncle Google and Aunt YouTube. Yet, the landscape has shifted under Alphabet Inc.’s stewardship, and the once-revered platforms now stand accused of disseminating disinformation, their business models transformed.

We find ourselves in the role of editors, sifting through the deluge of “news” that bombards us, discerning fact from fiction. The workplace, too, is a battleground of narratives, where companies weave tales to sway their workforce. The mantra “trust but verify” becomes a daily exercise, a tightrope walk between skepticism and cynicism.

The challenge is formidable, and we often falter, but it’s a mantle we must pass to the next generation. Our hope lies in their ability to navigate this labyrinth more adeptly. Yet, when we witness support for ideologies that threaten humanity itself, our faith wavers.

In the end, the quest for balance and mutual care remains the holy grail. “Trust, but verify” is not just a strategy; it’s a lifeline in the relentless tide of information. It’s a call to arms for vigilance, for the sake of our collective future.

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