The art of deception

After my trip home yesterday, I started thinking about how much effort we put into deceptive messaging in my culture.

Everywhere, we have signs or announcements that inform and disinform us at the same time. For example, on my flight home yesterday out of Washington D.C., the flight attendant cheerily told us that we had a "short flight....just five and a half hours." That's not a short flight at all...it's exactly the opposite!...especially with an additional hour spent en route for takeoff...or the additional two hours we spent queueing up for ticketing and security checks.

After that, as a "courtesy," they provided us with "food" that we could buy in flight. The food was, yet again, an assortment of pre-selected boxes of junk food packages from vending machines, grouped by theme, with absurd names. They also supposedly offered "fresh" food (pre-packaged salads and sandwiches), however, the "fresh food" sold out quickly and wasn't available anymore. Even that message ("we're out") was conveyed to us in an indirect, weirdly positive way.

The messaging at the hotel/resort was the same. There was an alternate, more-expensive food establishment next to the resort's canteen, with similar food in it to the canteen, but slightly better service. "For your convenience, we are open from 4 to 11 p.m." Of course, this actually meant "Sorry, we're closed until 4 p.m. every day."

Another one: "Sorry for our dust! For your enhancement, we are making additions for your future enjoyment" (or something like that) was the sign that meant "Under construction," telling the diners in the canteen to feel good about the construction noise while they ate.

Then I realized how disinformation has gone beyond politics and become a part of our everyday life. In the USA, companies don't just post a sign or make an announcement anymore that states the facts. They tell you how to feel about it. And the feeling they want you to have is completely dissonant with the one that you're actually feeling at that moment.

I think this is a part of US culture that might not exist in other countries. In France, for example, the signs are straightforward, leaving you to have your own feelings of outrage or indifference. "On strike." "Closed on Sundays." "Under construction." They don't try to tell you what it's not. They're not afraid of people having an attitude about it.

Most of us also know we're being lied to...but we shrug it off. We're surrounded by deceptions, where the meaning of the phrase is exactly the opposite of what it sounds: a good example are the "privacy policies," which are statements that tell you how a company (like your bank) is selling your name and the data they collected on you to other companies, for example. The danger comes when we start to believe them.