The Journal of Language and Social Psychology states that most Americans would speak lies once or twice each day. However, we have a tendency to take truth as face value, intending to accept dishonest replies as honest answers to questions. Our lie-detecting skills are completely vandalized, raising issues of transparency. These capacities would be completely detrimental to one’s discerning capacity.
Coming back to how it affects the publishing arena, let’s just say that most budding researchers would look forward to the opportunity of reading an entire manuscript as a peer reviewer; however, quite a few peer reviewers are voluntary workers who just skim through the manuscript. In the sense, they were “close enough” to reading an entire manuscript. How do we judge the integrity and authenticity of latest work? Let’s just say that it is absolutely difficult to decipher the quality of work. In the course of their professional careers, most researchers would be involved in writing, editing, and research. This is particularly true for people who need to their careers in scientific publishing. The concept of “white lies” has eroded the integrity of publishing industry.
Technological “white lies”
Consider the recent scandal of data mining from Facebook. The user agreement of this website claims to keep all data secure; however, internet is an online medium of shady grey areas. With no internet censorship, there are many shady dens operating on making fake profiles that not just abusive but also derogatory. Data is rigged and sold to most of these companies as nothing really is hack-proof in the “internet of things.” What really gets people hooked or compelled to Facebook? Does the website really guarantee privacy of information? Nope. The truth absolutely seems to be presented as a “white lie.”
Healthcare “white lies”
With the internet of things, we have now revolutionized the concept of healthcare advertising. With herbal and non-conventional medicines, there are umpteen videos claiming to restore chronic health ailments through various herbal formulations. Do these agencies really get approved by FDA? Nope, but the fine print is often hidden to mask the ignorance of general consumer. How much of the work done impact the industry of healthcare publishing on a global scale?
Marketing copywriters in the pharmaceutical industries don’t really have any direct impact on the integrity of pharmaceutical data; however, there are quite a few medical researchers, academics, and scholars who will have a dent with a slightly inaccurate data being presented. Their scholarly, influential outputs make a “yes” or “no” decision in the drug-regulating authorities.
Media “white lies”
Many things matter in the age of digital media. Fake news sells like hot cakes these days as practically every video can be morphed and altered to sabotage the reputation of your contender. These videos are then circulated through databases to cause riot like situation. The legal authorities use this situation for their vested interests and gain mileage. Does anyone really go out of limits to censor these fake news videos? Nope. Internet should never be considered as “free speech” but the lobby of Silicon Valley is too weighty to break off.
Plagiarism is being unraveled in the publishing industry like never before. The recent scandal of plagiarism and hacking has shaken the integrity of large publishing houses: Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley. “Hacking” and “identity theft” are the newest buzzwords in the technological world. Has anyone really checked the integrity of the so-called digital marketing agencies, claiming to have been managing the “online reputation” for a whole set of fake profiles, netizens, sleaze, and slander. Nope. Photoshop is an imaging software used for producing doctored images. Do modern businesses follow any rules of ethics? Nope. Why? That’s because the lobby of sinister pigs flourishes under the garb of “internet is free speech.” The term “cyberterrorism,” “cyberabuse,” are just used to mask these disgusting, menacing situations.
Conclusion: White lies have become the conventional method of sensationalizing things and vandalizing integrity. With technological evolution, better tools have been developed to catch crooks but there are also many technologies that are being used by powerful crooks to sabotage the system.