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Byron Shire
June 11, 2026
Byron EchoLetters

Fake news

By Mike Balson, Upper Wilsons Creek

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I guess fake news began thousands of years ago when religious fantasy was first preached as fact.

Segue to a mere 20 years back with the onset of ‘reality TV’, where the most unlikely people were put together in the most unlikely situations. Calling such contrived nonsense ‘reality TV’ was a stroke of marketing genius. 

In Trump’s first term in office, he branded real world events ‘fake news’ and all the truly fake news became ‘truth’, fodder to feed his MAGA base. He even named his online blog ‘Truth Social’. But now with very lifelike AI, I don’t know what is fake and what is real, and you know what, I am so exhausted trying to work it out.

I just turn away and don’t even bother any more. Is my disengagement really what the tech billionaires want?

Mike Balson, Upper Wilsons Creek

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