Joel Pollak, editor-in-chief for Breitbart News, drew a stunning lesson on the power of Fake News to hurt a community and to destroy our society. Citing the passages in Numbers, where the 12 spies check out God's Promised Land and report what they saw, Pollak shows how the Timid Ten Spies gave an evil report, i.e. Fake News, vs. the Two True spies, Caleb and Joshua.
Some of the passages from Pollak's article are worth reviewing as a reminder of the fight we face to ensure a decent, honest media re-emerges in our political culture:
We tend to think of “fake news” as a new phenomenon, a product of
advanced social media technology and our coarse and divided popular culture.
But as Ecclesiastes observes (chapter 1, verse 9): “there is nothing new under
the sun.”
Fake news — the deliberate spread of misinformation to sway public
opinion — dates back to the days of the Bible.
Indeed.
This week [article was dated June 16, 2017), Jewish congregations worldwide will read the Torah portion
of “Shelach” (Numbers 13:1–15:41), which tells the story of Moses and the
spies.
"Shelach" means "Send", which comes from Numbers 13:2:
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give
unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a
man, every one a ruler among them.
Notice that this move is God's direction for Moses and the people. God wanted His children to see the goodness that He had in store for them. The twelve spies enter the Promised Land to scout how good it is and what it has.
God wanted His people Israel to appreciate the great land He had promised them through their father and His friend Abraham.
Pollak then relates what the spies share with the congregation of Israel:
The majority, ten out of the twelve, give a discouraging report to the
people. “We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk
and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who inhabit the land are
mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even
the offspring of the giant. … We are unable to go up against the people, for
they are stronger than we. … The land we passed through to explore is a land
that consumes its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of
stature. … There we saw the giants …. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers,
and so we were in their eyes.” (13: 27-33)
Then comes a penetrating analysis:
This is the first recorded example of “fake news.” It includes two
types of fakery. One involves “facts” that are just made up — stories of giants
and grasshoppers. The other involves true facts — “milk and honey” — that are
spun in a damaging way, couched in editorial language — “We are unable” — that
is calculated to create division and despair.
There were indeed giants in the land. That is not a lie. One of their descendants, Goliath of Gath, would fall before a little yet beloved shepherd boy named David. The true fake news has to do with context and worldview. The basis of the Promise came from God's own mouth.
He event cut a covenant with Himself through an Intercessor for Abraham, Christ Jesus in pre-incarnate appearance (Genesis 15:17).
Fake News is all about perspective and spin, and taking the truth and focus off of what is true, eternal, and established.
The minority — Caleb and Joshua — dissent vigorously. “We can surely go
up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it,” Caleb protests
(13:30).
They also called the giants "bread for us." They refused to give into the lie that the land was out of their reach or their strength. In fact, they rejected the lie that they were on their own to take the land. It was God's gift to them and throughout Joshua's leadership and ministry, the Israelites relied and attained victory after victory because of God's blessings.
But the people are dismayed: “If only we had died in the land of Egypt,
or if only we had died in this desert.” (14:2) They despair: “Let us appoint a
leader and return to Egypt!” (14:4)
The “fake news” has had its effect — not only misinforming the people,
but encouraging political division and sedition.
Yes! How true. Fake News causes man to look at man's limited resources, rather than God's grace and blessings. Shame on the Timid Ten.
Caleb and Joshua reiterate their report, and tell the people to have
faith. “The land we passed through to scout is an exceedingly good land,” they
say, urging the people to have faith that the Lord will protect them from harm.
It is to no avail: for their trouble, the Bible says, “The entire
congregation threatened to pelt them with stones.” (14:10)
As punishment, the Children of Israel are condemned to wander in the
desert for another 40 years, until nearly all of the adults have died. Only a
new generation, the Lord decrees, will be able to enter the Promised Land. (14:
29-35)
The New Generation, those who see the miracles of God, who see Him taking care of all the people without regard to the enemies surrounding them.
So fake news is nothing new. What fundamentally divided the spies was
not what they saw when they scouted the land, but what they believed about
their ability to inhabit it. The majority did not have enough faith, and sought
to undermine the faith of others. They planted faulty intelligence with that
deliberate, destructive agenda in mind.
Yes, but also their faith in God and His goodness. This is the fundamental issue when it comes to faith. The writer of Hebrews explains what faith is about:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Pollak ties this culture of Fake News to the modern press:
Today we face the same problem. The truth is obvious enough for our
reporters to see. But some are determined to divide the country and undermine
its leadership. They feed false information to the public, or present true
facts in the most negative light. As a result, half the country lives in a nightmarish
alternate reality, terrified of the country’s leadership.
"Facts in a negative light" covers the press' perverse need to disparage the President and his many accomplishments with the Republican Congress.
It is not just a crisis of reporting, but also a crisis of faith. We
lack faith in the country’s institutions; we lack faith in ourselves.
Faith, yes, but rather faith in God's Word and His promises.
Why didn't the Israelites believe God? They were looking at themselves, not at Him who has been from the beginning (1 John 2:14)
“Fake news” has brought this country to a breaking point. Nightmares
are becoming reality. Unless we redouble our faith in what we have in common,
we are doomed to wander.
Final Reflection
When we know the truth, we are set free. The truth is about a Person, not just a set of ideas or facts.
The distortions and misrepresentations we witness come from the fact that we do not rest in the grace and truth of Christ Jesus (John 1:17). They are two sides of the same coin. There is no discussion of truth without talking about grace, and vice versa. It's time for us to take a firm stance for these verities. Because of a lack of respect for Divine Power and Favor, the media has devolved into a pitiful conflict between power brokers peddling narratives in their own interests.
Let us seek the truth, to know that God is--and is a rewarder of those who want what he wants, who allow Him to lead us!
