Is this true?

On unimportant issues, few have incentives to distort truth. Truth is easy to find. On important issues, many have incentives to distort truth. Truth can be difficult to find. 

How do we tell truth from lies? We don’t. We pick up stories based on our own interests, not based on truth. If a story is aligned with our interest, it is an interesting story. We get interested. If a story is not aligned with our interest, it is not an interesting story. We don’t get interested.

If you know where your interest lies, you know which story to believe and to share. There is no need to know truth. If you don’t know where your interest lies, why are you so curious about truth? In movies, someone accidentally witnessed truth is often ruthlessly hunted down. If you are not seeking trouble, why do you seek truth?

Of course, truth is not always suppressed. Sometimes, truth may be aligned with the interest of powerful parties, even dominant parties. It is when truth is mostly aligned with the interest of dominant parties, scientific breakthroughs flourish. This is rare in human history. Today is certainly not such a day.

Humans are social animals. We all need social approval. It is natural to write and share stories. But just stop asking if a story is true. That destroys all the pleasure in socializing.