Staying Informed is Practically Impossible

These days we have too much information and not enough clarity.

Like many other people, I’m frustrated with how the internet directs traffic. There are too many algorithms, too much noise, and too many sites that no longer prioritize the user experience. It’s not about whether we’re having a good time anymore, or getting information that’s important to us. It’s just about whether we keep scrolling.

I don’t expect everyone to click on everything on my new resources page. My aim is to offer a menu. What are you looking for, and how can you access that information? What would be more helpful than AI-based searching? These are the questions I’m aiming to address.

Social media offered two promises: connection and information. It has failed us all on both counts. It has left us disconnected from each other, less informed, and more confused. Depending on where we land on the political spectrum, we might be on different sites altogether, taking in different information. It might contain more or less truth mixed with lies, but it is definitely tailored to our individual impulses. Whatever keeps us engaged is what we’ll see next.

The concept of “staying informed” is itself a bit strange.

Do events on the other side of the world matter to my everyday life?

If not, why do I need to be aware of it?

I don’t want to bury my head in the sand or be calloused regarding the suffering of others.

But CAN I be aware of everything that’s going on?

Of course not. Even if I spent every waking moment taking in news, I would never be fully aware of everything. I also wouldn’t have any energy to do anything meaningful with that knowledge.

So, what information do I need, and how do I obtain it?

What if the information I need is being hidden from me?

The year is 2026, and a lot of us are coming to terms with the sobering fact that we’re being fed slop, and what’s important is harder to access.

Where are you getting your news? The biggest news outlets are owned by the ultra-rich. Every headline and every line of every article is not written to inform you – it’s written to form your opinion. It’s crowd control. They don’t want us to know what’s really going on.

Name any event of the year so far, and the media in the US can’t even be said to be failing or fumbling. It is succeeding and using precision to direct the narrative. Editorializing is what you’re doing if you’re a journalist with a well-paid position in the US today. And it’s not just the US. You won’t get accurate information about the trans genocide in the US or UK. Experts are calling it a genocide, but any supporters of trans people no longer work for the New York Times or Washington Post.

If “the news” is not a helpful source of information, where do you turn? I’ve had to look up independent organizations that cover events on specific issues. I’ve heard good things about Ground News, but I can’t afford a subscription to them, and I’m wary of paywalls that prevent access to information. I trust my free subscription to Breakthrough News because they report from the perspective of the disempowered.

The other main places to get up-to-date information on what’s happening in the world (besides Wikipedia) are social media sites and blogs. If you aren’t a fan of fascism, major social media sites have been pushing you away for years. “X” is for Nazis, but it’s not far-right enough for “Truth Social” somehow. Facebook, YouTube, TikTok…they all have extensive backgrounds of being consolidated by the ultra-rich to maintain control of the narrative.

What is the value of a blog over a newspaper? I would rather read Jessica’s takes at The Sentinel Intelligence than anything The New York Times has to say about anything. It’s more relevant and honest. There’s news and analysis, plus a healthy dose of reality on survival strategies. I also never miss a free post from Liberation Toolbox.

It’s important that we each think carefully about these questions for ourselves. Who benefits from your attention? Why do they want you to believe what they’re telling you? What do you need to know for your own survival, and to be helpful as much as you can?

I love a good video explaining the tactics these people use...

For each of us, what matters will look different. But the algorithm prioritizes what keeps us scrolling. It’s not tailored to what matters in our lives. Because they don’t want us to survive as their empire crumbles. They want us to keep consuming slop to our final days. We've known this for years - our attention is the product.

For me, staying informed includes more than the news. I need information that specifically applies to my own activities. That could mean looking up a recipe or mental health information online. That’s still using the internet to inform myself, and even in those categories, I’m forced to dodge AI slop. My search engine summarizes incorrect information now and pushes sites that aren’t credible.

I also need empowerment. Too much dread, and the powerlessness and helplessness will creep in. News outlets often add to these feelings. That’s why I also take breaks to read books, play with my cats, do crafts, and bake. I need to nourish myself.

I need clarity. I need to think about what I’m looking for, and it often takes extra focus to keep in mind why I picked up my phone before my notifications distract me. I need to be informed about myself and the world I live in. I need to know about what impacts me and about what impacts us as humans. We are connected to each other, and we must not allow ourselves to be disempowered.

I’m not perfect at it. I am learning all the time. What matters is that I’m aware of who benefits when I go along with what I’m being told to think.

After all, staying informed is practically impossible.