“Flood the Zone with Shit”

Access a lot of information, constantly and everywhere. That sounds great, but not all that glitters is gold - the sheer volume of information is often used to spread misinformation and manipulate the collective consciousness. A phrase that aptly describes this situation is “Flood the Zone with Shit,” a horrific image of the information landscape we inhabit. But what does that actually mean and how can we defend ourselves against this “information pollution”? The solution could lie in education.

“Flood the Zone with Shit”: Where does this expression come from?

“Flood the Zone with Shit” is a phrase that has its roots in political circles. The phrase was coined by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to describe the Trump administration's strategy regarding media and information flow: to flood public discourse with disinformation and distractions to such an extent that it becomes nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction differentiate. Bannon recognized the potential to cause confusion and deliberately spread false narratives to influence public opinion.

The power of education: confident use of search engines and media literacy

But there is a weapon against this flood of misinformation: education. Specifically, two aspects are particularly relevant: the ability to use search engines effectively and comprehensive media competence.

Search engines are a crucial resource in the information landscape. They give us access to an almost infinite reservoir of knowledge and data. But without the right know-how, we are just passive consumers of this flood of information. Skills such as the use of text search, reverse image search or geolocation are necessary to verify the validity and provenance of information and thus effectively debunk false reports.

But that alone is not enough. Media literacy, the understanding of how media works and its impact on our perception and behavior, is another key. It enables us to view information critically, assess its credibility and recognize its possible intentions. Media literacy should be taught in schools in order to better arm ourselves against the “pollution” of the information zone.

Quality versus quantity. The real problem with fake news. Too often we focus on the quality of fake news, its plausibility and its ability to deceive us. We overestimate the power of individual false reports and the fear of “the big deep fake” keeps cropping up. But it has never come and it probably never will.

Because the real problem is quantity: the sheer volume of false information makes it almost impossible for us to check everything and distinguish between truth and fakery. This is what makes “Flood the Zone with Shit” so dangerous. These many pinprick-like false reports and statements that cause confusion.

The role of narratives and confirmation bias

Fake news often uses overarching narratives, stories that are deeply rooted in our culture and that we accept as true or at least plausible. That's what makes them so convincing and tempts us to accept them without examining them.

This is where confirmation bias comes into play, a cognitive bias that causes us to favor information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore or reject information that contradicts them. This combination of plausible narratives and confirmation bias is what makes fake news so effective and dangerous.

The way out of the dilemma: education and training

To address this problem, we need more than just schooling. New concepts, especially in adult education, are necessary. Entertainment concepts can play a key role in this because they make learning attractive and make it easier to absorb information. It is time we rise to the challenge and see education as the powerful tool it is to protect our “information zone”.

By learning the skills that keep us safe in this era of information overload, we can take back control of our own information flow and curb the power of misinformation. We have to learn to resist “Flood the Zone with shit.” Let's do it because we have the ability and responsibility to protect our information environment. Let's accept this challenge.

Mimikama.education can impart media literacy in the context of the topic “OnlyFans: A threat to children and young people?” through targeted lectures and workshops. Various target groups such as students, teachers and parents can be reached and sensitized.