News We Can’t Trust

 

Hearsay and slander,

Libel and gossip

Are the news we cannot trust-

We need to fix it.

 

A juicy piece of news

Travels like a forest fire

And social media platforms

Are here for the hire.

 

“This is the gospel”

“I know it for sure”

“This is from a reliable source”

But there are more.

 

 

“You must believe me”

“From the horse’s mouth”

News from the east to west

From north to south.

 

News about politicians

And about pastors too,

News about the church-goers

From pulpit to pew.

 

Hearsay and slander

Libel and gossip,

Are the news we cannot trust-

We need to fix it.

 

Had an old pastor

That condemned gossip,

You could not take news to him

Yes, he fixed it.

 

One thing he required

And this before listening

Was for that one to be present

Meaning the victim.

 

If this couldn’t be done

It was simply, “case dismissed”

For he had better things to do,

In fact, a long list.

 

Re news we can’t trust,

We must be very careful

For we often end up hurting

Innocent people.

 

And it is embarrassing

When it is not true

Though from reliable sources

Like me and you.

 

If it is positive news

Then there is no problem

But if they bring the negative

We must reject them.

 

 

 

Hearsay and slander,

Libel and gossip

Are the news we cannot trust-

We need to fix it.

 

It is at every level:

High, medium and low

And if it is generally expected,

You’d hear, “I felt so.”

 

Let’s be more positive

Encourage the unfortunate,

Glorying in one’s misfortune

Is a pathetic mistake.

 

 

And be careful too

With this “in confidence”,

It is often said to titillate

A captive audience.

 

One thing we can try

Is a “don’t need to know”

And be that considerate person

To interrupt the flow.

 

The flow of such news

That we cannot trust

And for that unfortunate one

Causes much fuss.

 

 

 

Hearsay and slander,

Libel and gossip

Are the news we cannot trust-

We need to fix it.

 

Stewart Russell © June 18, 2024

 

 

Propaganda

 

 

The views about the news

Outlast the news

And before you can say it is a lie

The news is the views.

 

At the local level,

Regional and International

The news dissipates into views

And is termed the Gospel.

 

Meaning you can believe it

It is credible and true:

Although somebody else’s truth

And your truth too.

 

Somewhat like the Bible

And the myriad interpretations,

Especially those propagated

By myriad denominations.

 

One of the scourges

That confronts the world today:

It is propaganda

Not just hearsay.

 

It comes over as truth

For it is designed that way

To control the thinking of people

And over them hold sway.

 

Reputable personnel

That you’d be shocked to know

Engage in propaganda endeavor

But differently show.

 

 

You would recall Squealer

From the satyr, Animal Farm,

It was he that propagated lie after lie

Causing much harm.

 

Propaganda is a lie

That obscures the truth,

It operates like a forest fire

With devastating proof.

 

Very much like gossip

Is the propaganda concept,

Based on personnel and spread,

One is likely to accept.

 

I will not name names

For I am too small a fish

And in an ocean of predators

I’d be a likely dish.

 

Propaganda is a business

Propaganda is a scheme,

Propaganda is a political system

That politicians esteem.

 

Many are the propagandists

In the Church and the World

And sometimes the evidential overlap

Is nothing short of absurd.

 

Propaganda is deception

And the intent is to brainwash

The recipient into believing the lie

And the truth squash.

 

 

It is the scourge of the world

And the bane of the church

And the top brass participants

Are trained experts.

 

Making it so very hard

To even know what to believe

So that one does not every theory

And doctrine receive.

 

Test the spirits, the Bible says

And see if they are of God,

For propaganda is alive and well

At home and abroad.

 

Stewart Russell © October 4, 2023