Chomsky Slams Google Spying, Useless Twitter -The iPINIONS Journal

MIT professor emeritus Noam Chomsky is arguably the most accomplished thinker in America, if not the world, today. Whatever one thinks of Wikipedia, it fairly describes Chomsky as an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political commentator, social justice activist, and anarcho-syndicalist advocate.

That established, Chomsky shared “his views on the current media landscape” in an April 14 interview with Byline Boston. Much of what he shared would have been familiar to The Chomsky Reader. But this was my first time reading his take on two controversial issues, which have caused me considerable flak over the years.

My take on Google:

Private companies like Target, Amazon, Google, and Facebook routinely do far more spying on Americans to sell them stuff than the NSA does to keep them safe… Never mind the folly in predicating the necessary and inherently furtive business of espionage on the shifting winds of public opinion.

(“Obama Announces Cosmetic NSA Reforms,” The iPINIONS Journal, January 18, 2014)

Chomsky’s take:

With Google, and others of course, there is an immense amount of surveillance to try to obtain personal data about individuals and their habits and interactions and so on, to shape the way information is presented to them. They do more [surveillance] than the NSA.

This vindicates my contention that Edward Snowden is a dangerously misguided fool, who would’ve performed a far greater public service by exposing Google’s spying, not the NSA’s.

My take on Twitter:

Twitter has about as much redeeming value as Twinkies. [T]he mainstream media are no better than Hostess in this respect. Because the contrived tweets (i.e., junk thoughts) of self-promoting buffoons like Trump would never enter public consciousness, let alone public discourse, if networks like FOX did not routinely report them as BREAKING NEWS.

(“Why I Hate Twitter,” The iPINIONS Journal, February 1, 2013)

Frankly, I maintain that 99 percent of all social media involves peddling or living virtual fantasies, instigating or egging on manufactured conflicts, hurling ignorance or insults for attention, and/or promoting oneself or a product for cold, hard cash. Reportedly, Kim Kardashian attempted to ingratiate herself with President Obama by getting her millions of online followers to support his re-election campaign. Unsurprisingly, she failed.

Because, to the extent they even exist, her voyeurs and trainee narcissists have no real interest in anything of any real importance in the real world.

Chomsky’s take: