I’d say it’s not so much about giving up on mainstream sources, but developing a critical eye for reading them. I often read FT, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Guardian, etc. They will have have factual information, but what you have to separate it from the framing and the biases. Once you learn to identify them, you can tease apart the facts they’re reporting from the narrative they’re pushing. In fact, the narrative being pushed can itself be informative because it gives you a clue as to how the public opinion is being shaped, and then you can start asking why it’s being shaped that way.
That one’s easy, it’s our beloved oligarchs of course. But you’re absolutely right, that’s ultimately what you have to look at. Whose interests does the cultural hegemony we live under serve.
I’d say it’s not so much about giving up on mainstream sources, but developing a critical eye for reading them. I often read FT, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Guardian, etc. They will have have factual information, but what you have to separate it from the framing and the biases. Once you learn to identify them, you can tease apart the facts they’re reporting from the narrative they’re pushing. In fact, the narrative being pushed can itself be informative because it gives you a clue as to how the public opinion is being shaped, and then you can start asking why it’s being shaped that way.
And who’s paying for that shaping
That one’s easy, it’s our beloved oligarchs of course. But you’re absolutely right, that’s ultimately what you have to look at. Whose interests does the cultural hegemony we live under serve.