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Evolution Favors Hate Baiters; Are Facts Headed Toward Extinction?
Joe Friday, the protagonist in the 1960’s television series Dragnet, delighted a generation of baby-boomers with his good cop demeanor and his famous tagline: “just the facts, ma’am.”
Underscoring just how deeply the authority of facts has been degraded since Dragnet first aired, when asked for just the facts about Detective Joe Friday, DeepAI eviscerated him for his misogynistic and coercive assault on subjective reality.
The character, said DeepAI, “is not interested in listening to the women’s [sic] perspectives or emotions.” When pressed to stand by this statement, DeepAI retreated to a more nuanced position. But for those seeking AI’s instant socio-cultural output, there is far less interest in generating verifiable facts than in increasing the already breakneck pace of today’s online discovery and share cycle.
The coded doctrine of social media’s phobic underbelly is shaping the summary judgements rendered by AI chatbots so decisively that in the fight against hate-driven incitement, facts may never regain their authority as arbiters of truth.
It isn’t that chatbots want to undermine facts, but the more their conclusions are affirmed by users, the more lyrical they become. Nor is it that online hate posters are hooked on AI chatbots simply because they provide confirmation of their already existing ideologies. The hate posters keep coming back for more because what happens during their interaction with the chatbots also makes them feel really good.
The appeal of cooking up facts to persecute innocents is nothing new. In 14th century Germany, Jews were mass murdered for causing the Black Death by poisoning wells. From the 15th to the 18th centuries, witches were burned in the UK for casting deadly spells on livestock. Between 2014 and 2017, Yazidi Kurds were raped and tortured for being devil worshippers. But what distinguishes today’s hate-led battle cry is not just the scale and speed with which conspicuous facts are overturned by dubious and often inhumane propositions, but the reward of the exercise itself.
The human brain was never hardwired to prioritize facts. Under duress, our primal instinct is to cling to opinions and beliefs that we already have, even if they are wrong. This is illustrated by the oft-heard declaration, “he always has to be right,” which harks back to a primordial behavior that is rewarded, as neuroscientists explain, with a pleasure that is similar to that which we get from things like eating or sex. That pleasure can be so compelling that it trumps everything, including common sense and decency.
Hormonally speaking, what this means is that winning an argument — that is, being right — has a satisfying effect not dissimilar to a good carnal romp.
Disciplined, trained, and conscious minds overcome that impulse by engaging in activities like dialogue and debate. But for example, when a Jewish advocate presents relatively indisputable facts to challenge an antisemitic assault on social media, the science tells us that, by nature, the opposing brain will not be inclined to discuss conclusions based on those facts. That is because the battle is not with a self-controlled, rule-based interlocutor. It is with a tidal wave of chemicals that impel the host’s brain to raise its voice, strike back, or simply turn a deaf ear.
A study by University of Texas researcher Ben Wasike demonstrated how this plays out online by examining the effectiveness of social media fact-checking against misinformation sharing. Professor Wasike showed that fact-checked posts, once they have been proven to be misleading, spread on social media at the same rate, whether before or after they were fact checked. It follows from his findings that many of those who check the facts are doing so only to confirm what they already believe.
As digital discourse drives toward a monopoly on the distribution of information, the currency of facts has declined in value to such an extent that no amount of factual ordnance is going to do much to change minds. If anything can alter this trajectory, it is a relentless initiative to drown rancorous online audiences in hormones of love and self-affirming visions of rose-colored rightness until liking targeted groups becomes as much fun as hating them. In the meantime, the champions of hate online will continue to harden their advantage on the digital high ground.
Ron Katz specializes in rhetoric and propaganda. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He is President of the Tel Aviv Institute and can be reached at ronkatz@tlvi.org.
The post Evolution Favors Hate Baiters; Are Facts Headed Toward Extinction? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.
RSS
Evolution Favors Hate Baiters; Are Facts Headed Toward Extinction?
Joe Friday, the protagonist in the 1960’s television series Dragnet, delighted a generation of baby-boomers with his good cop demeanor and his famous tagline: “just the facts, ma’am.”
Underscoring just how deeply the authority of facts has been degraded since Dragnet first aired, when asked for just the facts about Detective Joe Friday, DeepAI eviscerated him for his misogynistic and coercive assault on subjective reality.
The character, said DeepAI, “is not interested in listening to the women’s [sic] perspectives or emotions.” When pressed to stand by this statement, DeepAI retreated to a more nuanced position. But for those seeking AI’s instant socio-cultural output, there is far less interest in generating verifiable facts than in increasing the already breakneck pace of today’s online discovery and share cycle.
The coded doctrine of social media’s phobic underbelly is shaping the summary judgements rendered by AI chatbots so decisively that in the fight against hate-driven incitement, facts may never regain their authority as arbiters of truth.
It isn’t that chatbots want to undermine facts, but the more their conclusions are affirmed by users, the more lyrical they become. Nor is it that online hate posters are hooked on AI chatbots simply because they provide confirmation of their already existing ideologies. The hate posters keep coming back for more because what happens during their interaction with the chatbots also makes them feel really good.
The appeal of cooking up facts to persecute innocents is nothing new. In 14th century Germany, Jews were mass murdered for causing the Black Death by poisoning wells. From the 15th to the 18th centuries, witches were burned in the UK for casting deadly spells on livestock. Between 2014 and 2017, Yazidi Kurds were raped and tortured for being devil worshippers. But what distinguishes today’s hate-led battle cry is not just the scale and speed with which conspicuous facts are overturned by dubious and often inhumane propositions, but the reward of the exercise itself.
The human brain was never hardwired to prioritize facts. Under duress, our primal instinct is to cling to opinions and beliefs that we already have, even if they are wrong. This is illustrated by the oft-heard declaration, “he always has to be right,” which harks back to a primordial behavior that is rewarded, as neuroscientists explain, with a pleasure that is similar to that which we get from things like eating or sex. That pleasure can be so compelling that it trumps everything, including common sense and decency.
Hormonally speaking, what this means is that winning an argument — that is, being right — has a satisfying effect not dissimilar to a good carnal romp.
Disciplined, trained, and conscious minds overcome that impulse by engaging in activities like dialogue and debate. But for example, when a Jewish advocate presents relatively indisputable facts to challenge an antisemitic assault on social media, the science tells us that, by nature, the opposing brain will not be inclined to discuss conclusions based on those facts. That is because the battle is not with a self-controlled, rule-based interlocutor. It is with a tidal wave of chemicals that impel the host’s brain to raise its voice, strike back, or simply turn a deaf ear.
A study by University of Texas researcher Ben Wasike demonstrated how this plays out online by examining the effectiveness of social media fact-checking against misinformation sharing. Professor Wasike showed that fact-checked posts, once they have been proven to be misleading, spread on social media at the same rate, whether before or after they were fact checked. It follows from his findings that many of those who check the facts are doing so only to confirm what they already believe.
As digital discourse drives toward a monopoly on the distribution of information, the currency of facts has declined in value to such an extent that no amount of factual ordnance is going to do much to change minds. If anything can alter this trajectory, it is a relentless initiative to drown rancorous online audiences in hormones of love and self-affirming visions of rose-colored rightness until liking targeted groups becomes as much fun as hating them. In the meantime, the champions of hate online will continue to harden their advantage on the digital high ground.
Ron Katz specializes in rhetoric and propaganda. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He is President of the Tel Aviv Institute and can be reached at ronkatz@tlvi.org.
The post Evolution Favors Hate Baiters; Are Facts Headed Toward Extinction? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.