‘… reports continue to flood in as cases rise in the Midwestern United States. We have an excellent show for you tonight folks. With us is resident disease expert, Jakob Farrow – How are you Jakob?
‘Not well I’m afraid, I have received inside information from Melpomene herself about the origins of a new variant of the Corona Virus that was first found in Wyoming. Allegedly, this new variant was purposefully introduced into the populace through the latest vaccine created by researchers at the Phoebus Research Institute’.
‘Jakob, I am certain that our viewers are as shocked as I! Didn’t you previously claim that the original virus was released from a Chinese lab when an intern opened a test tube containing the disease?
‘I’m afraid so. A student researcher names Penelope Joplin who was an exchange student was irresponsibly granted full access to the lab. Out of curiosity, she opened the unmarked vile and released the novel virus. I’ve invited a special guest to come on the show to give more insight into Penelope, I believe she is ready to call in now!’
‘… Hello! My name is Lachesis, and I am a midwife and fortune teller based in Cheyenne! I was the midwife that delivered Penelope when she was born. As soon as I saw her, I was able to use my powers to spin the thread of her fate! She was destined to unleash that virus from the moment she was born’.
‘Thank you, Lachesis, for that wonderful insight, and thank you Jakob for bringing on such a credible source. Our next segment will be featuring doctor of infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Asclepius! Anthony, what is your take on this breaking news?’
‘Frankly, I have a hard time believing that a reputable institution would purposefully spread a new variant of a disease they’ve been spending months to eradicate. I greatly question the validity of this insider information. Scientific consensus is that the disease originated from the environment, not a lab’.
Anthony, I am going to have to cut you off there as we are running out of time! We find it hard to believe that nature could produce such a deadly virus, it feels more likely humans created it and spread it for their own gain. Thank you for your time Jakob, and for your words of wisdom to all our viewers at home. We will be right back following these brief messages from our producers, the Helikonian Muses.
“Dad, that made no sense. Why would scient-”
“I can’t believe I raised you like this! Are you seriously trusting a scientist over Kalliope? They’re powerful and know everything! Now hush, they’re about to start their next segment.
I was about to continue my argument when the jingle for the News with Kalliope program sounded from the TV. Soon, the anchor’s confident drone will be heard echoing throughout the house. I seriously doubt they take the time to understand what they’re saying, they just parrot whatever the Muses tell them.
Analysis
The purpose of this myth is to explain the origin and prevalence of disinformation and post-truth politics in media. It accomplishes this by following the perspective of a young woman and her father watching the daily news in their living room. The program they are listening to is called News with Kalliope and features an unnamed news anchor who features several guests commenting on a new strain of the corona virus. The narrative present by the news anchor and the resident disease expert asserts that the novel strain of the virus was released to the public by a group of corrupt scientists at Phoebus Research Institute through a new vaccine program. They feature 2 guests, a fortune teller and a doctor studying infectious diseases. Following the broadcast, the daughter suggests that the information was not completely truthful, while her father sides with the Muses, the producers of the show.
Before continuing with this analysis, the distinction between disinformation and post-truth politics will be addressed. The post-truth era is defined as the gradual loss of distinction between truth and opinion, and often relies on appeals to authority and emotion (Biesecker 329). On the other hand, disinformation in the media, colloquially referred to as Fake News, is a general lack of truth and honesty in journalism. While the two ideas are fundamentally separate, the prevalence of disinformation certainly contributes to the worsening of the post-truth era. The sources of information in this story are the Muses, who have divine authority. Making the Muses the source to their news stories should provide a certain level of credibility to their program. However, this is the source of the conflict that drives this narrative. Are the Muses telling the truth when they say the novel strain was distributed in a vaccination program? The nuance of this myth is that it has no formal resolution. Since it addresses disinformation in the media, explicitly addressing whether the Muses are being truthful would subtract from the theme of dishonesty and doubt prevalent in both mythology and in contemporary media.
This passage references five ancient texts. Firstly, the Muses are used as media producers who operate major media companies. They spread information without providing credible sources in order to create distrust in political and scientific institutions, as well as to increase the audience that watches their shows. In Greek mythology, the Muses are invoked at the beginning of a myth to provide divine credibility. However, the reason why the Muses are used to represent the contemporary post-truth state of media comes from their presence in Hesiod’s Theogony. In this myth, the Muses claim to speak the truth, but also occasionally presenting “believable lies” as facts (Theo. 1-35). The ability to tell convincing lies is dangerous in contemporary media and is the origin of most misinformation. As such, the Muses have the potential to spread disinformation through mythology, using the bards who tell their stories. In this myth, the news anchor is directly analogous to a bard who spreads the stories of the muses. Thus, the anchor can tell the plain truth, while also telling convincing lies at the discretion of the muses.
This myth also asserts that the original strain of the novel corona virus was introduced into the world when an American intern, Penelope, at a Chinese lab opened a vile containing a strand of the virus. This clearly mimics real-world conspiracy theories that the SARS-CoV-2 virus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. The story of Penelope opening the vile is a reference to the myth in Work and Days by Hesiod of Pandora opening the jar and unleashing evil into the world, including disease (58-128). Although the conspiracy theory was dismissed by scientists, the theory’s popularity was due to the prevalence of dishonesty in the media and the culture of post-truth politics in news (Van Beusekom). It appealed to the emotions of the viewers because it provides an individual to blame for the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Similarly, the Greeks blame Pandora, and the puppeteering of the gods, for the origins of hard work and disease. The similarities between these two myths highlight the tools media outlets use to manipulate their viewers into believing the stories the promote.
This myth also references a new strain of the virus which allegedly originates from the Phoebus lab in Wyoming. The scientists have discovered a cure for the COVID-19 virus and have released a vaccine. However, the news asserts that the new strain of the virus is being injected into the populace through this vaccination program. This is a reference to book 1 of the Iliad when Chryses was dishonored by Agamemnon and prayed to Apollo for revenge (22-55). Apollo descended and shot disease-ridden arrows at the Achaeans, causing a plague to spread within their army. This is reflected in the contemporary myth when Phoebus Research institute distributed needles, which are analogous to Apollo’s arrows. Furthermore, the name of the research institute is a reference to Apollo, who is also known as “Phoebus Apollo” (Iliad 22-55). This choice was made because divine intervention is a common theme throughout mythology and, in this example, serves to aid those who call upon a god’s power. In the Iliad, disease targets the soldiers in an army, weakening them. In the contemporary myth, the divine intervention of the Muses spreads mistrust and dishonesty in the media to create fake news. This has the effect of discrediting reputable institutions like science and politics.
One of the guests brought onto the news show was named Lachesis who claimed to be a midwife and fortune teller. This is a reference to the Three Sisters of Fate, the Moirai. Lachesis is one of the three sisters and is the personification of fate and destiny. In myth, the Moirai spin the fates of newborns using the thread of the person’s future (Oedipus 980). In this story, Lachesis is brought onto a news segment and explains that she knew Penelope’s future and the direct consequences of her actions to come. However, the Sisters do not intervene with fate, they merely present it. In this myth, the Sisters function to represent how post-truth politics relies on appeals to emotion and authority. Rather than appreciating a scientific origin to the virus, the news outlet presents a story from a fortune teller based on emotion and divine authority. Furthermore, when an actual doctor calls into the show later, the two guests are treated with equal validity.
Finally, the last guest to appear on the news show is Dr. Anthony Asclepius. This name references two individuals; Dr. Anthony Fauci and the god of healing and disease, Asclepius. Dr. Anthony Fauci is an expert in infectious disease control and was frequently discredited by the media, despite his knowledge and experience. Similarly, Dr. Asclepius was cut off and immediately discredited following his short appearance on the show. Asclepius, who is mentioned in a brief Homeric Hymn (To Asclepius 1), is the god of healing and disease and thus is an appropriate comparison to Dr. Fauci. Once again, this serves to demonstrate the media’s urge to discredit scientific institutions to foster distrust and to increase their viewership.
In conclusion, this myth explains the prevalence of disinformation in the media in the post-truth era. It is explained as the Muses, who control popular media, telling believable lies and occasional truth to millions of views across the United States.
Bibliography
Biesecker. "Guest Editor's Introduction: Toward an Archaeogenealogy of Post-truth." Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. 51, no. 4, 2018, pp. 329. doi:10.5325/philrhet.51.4.0329. Accessed March 8 2021.
Hesiod, Theogony.1-35
Hesiod, Work & Days.58-128
Homer, Iliad 1.22-52.
Homeric Hymns 16.To Asclepius.1
Seneca, Oedipus.980
Van Beusekom, M. "Scientists: 'Exactly zero' evidence COVID-19 came from a lab." Center for Disease Research and Policy, 2020, https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/newsperspective/2020/05/scientists-exactly-zero-evidence-covid-19-came-lab. Accessed March 8 2021.
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