Between “bots” and “maritesses,” the world is rapidly turning on itself.

So who’s to say what’s true nowadays? Fake news, social media distrust, media fragmentation — yes, we are inundated with information, yet we are awash in uncertainty. Disinformation is said to be our problem. Many surveys bewail this.

At least, that is the narrative that some sectors are propagating — they who want you to feel desensitized or be even more gullible.

We are also given the idea nowadays that artificial intelligence is evil, but would we deny that humans are evil too? Not everyone, of course. There are Mother Teresas and there are Hitlers. But need we even bring up 9/11? How about the Russia-Ukraine bloodbath, the Israel-Hamas war?

On top of climate change and political upheavals, the news today can certainly turn off anyone from reading or listening to the news, just ask Pulse Asia. Yet one hopes, as a journalist, that this is just a phase.

The latest Pulse Asia survey rattled off the reasons fewer people are reading the news nowadays. And most of them are young.

Such a survey could spread gloom in a newsroom, but this little pen wielder, in this little newsroom, wants to know — what would they rather do instead? Will more people believe that no news is good news and therefore the world is pretty? Of course, this aversion to the news could likely stem from a growing frustration that all the problems never get any resolution anyway — just look at China’s aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.

Yet, will more people simply escape reality rather than ask more questions, seek more answers, and learn to surmise what is fake and what is real?

According to an analysis in a local business paper, AI can be used for either good or bad; it’s a tool.

For instance, “(it) can be used to spot deceptive content through an analysis of posts.” AI, the article said, “can be both a sword and a shield. Analysts, however, observe that even if a deceptive medium can be detected, not everyone will believe that a fake video is fake.”

It then cites The Economist concluding that “the mitigation of disinformation will require much more than just technology.”

Much more than technology — perhaps just common sense? Human instinct?

Some friends have sent warnings about a popular online shopping site that’s been accused of being a “digital stalker” (ergo, intelligence gathering) of an unseen threat.

Darn, I thought. I had this urge to click on a cute beach hat, but what if it’s true that adding to that cart could place me in unwanted dark spaces where information about me, you and the rest of the shopping hordes are used as weapons for an impending war?

If I were to simply believe this, however, I could be falling victim to a disinformation campaign raging within the world of online shopping sites.

So, now I am left to ponder on whether to dismiss the advice and click anyway, or err on the side of caution and delete the app. Frankly, who has the time to investigate these matters?

And that, I fear, is why there is such a thing as a battle against disinformation. It’s a war we find ourselves in if we do not take the time to ask the relevant questions. If we need the truth, we must seek it.

Because there will never be any letup in the spreading of lies or wrong information, as the maritesses of the world since time immemorial will tell you. It’s just that the battle has gone high tech, and vicious.

Your only hope for clarity and peace is to use your brain, delve deeper, and rely on your own gut to lead you to the truth.