AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth of The Screwtape “Text Messages” in Today’s AI World. Although the basic C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters vehicle of communications of a senior demon to an apprentice is retained, I have made a few changes:
The method of communication is text messages instead of letters. The apprentice demon, Wormwood, has been replaced by Phishhook and Screwtape has been replaced by Mephisto, named after a demon from German folklore and Faust. The target to be tempted by the demons is referred to as “The Lostling.” The demons refer to hell as Meta-Dystopia. Finally, there are observations about the text messages from a “good team” fact checker and analyst, Clarion Veridiel.
A brief explanation of Online Echo Chambers may be helpful. These are sites where viewers are constantly exposed to opinions and information that confirm their beliefs, while dissenting opinions are minimized or dismissed. Essentially, the viewers are hearing the echoes of their own voices.
The creation of effective online echo chambers is a very sophisticated process that is aggressively pursued by social media, newsfeeds, and other online sites. They serve an important commercial purpose by keeping the viewer on the site longer, so they see more ads, which generate more revenue.
The following is Mephisto’s text message and Clarion Veridiel’s response about online echo chambers.
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TO: Phishhook (101-001-1010) URGENT
FROM: Mephisto
LOSTLING DOSSIER: The target is a retired senior citizen who is happily married and active in her church. She has never been heavily involved with social media or other online activities, but she is tech-savvy because of her previous professional career. She has a wide circle of close friends and is interested in current events and likes to talk about politics with friends and family.
Dear Phishhook:
We need to try a different tactic with this Lostling. Let’s not try to undermine her faith or weaken family ties. You’ve failed miserably with that approach in the past. Instead, let’s focus on turning her into a bigot who aggressively expresses her views. Our goal should be to create tension and awkward relationships because there are discussion topics that are clearly understood to be off limits with friends and family.
The approach will be to get her involved in online echo chambers that filter information she receives so that it primarily reflects one side of the issues. Over time, this will cause her to seek out and remember information in ways that will reinforce her existing beliefs and cause her to be critical and dismissive of contradictory viewpoints.
Let me give you some specific tactics. The first is relatively innocuous, but it will ease her way into echo chambers, so they seem natural. Urge her to subscribe to several online news and entertainment feeds. Over time, as the algorithms record her “clicks”, the feeds will change to better align with her revealed preferences. If she likes movies and travel, the appearance of her feeds will morph to reflect those likes. If she visits political sites and has even a modest conservative or liberal bias, that tendency will be reinforced by the appearance of more extreme feeds that she will click on because they reflect her preferences.
It is likely that the changes will be so subtle she won’t notice them. An added advantage for us is that she will spend more time on these sites because they will become interesting to her. Remember, time is a scarce resource that we want the Lostlings to squander online.
Second, we need to wean her from traditional news media. Convince her that newspapers are a dying breed because they can’t provide news in real time, and they are expensive. Also suggest that she abandon traditional TV newscasts because they are part of the “drive by media” that indulges in fake news that can’t be trusted.
Third, induce (seduce?) her to spend more time on social media sites. This is where the real action is for us. The approach should be to convince her that she is being left out as her friends talk about their exciting online findings and exploits.
Sites such as Facebook and “X” are especially useful because they have refined their algorithms to be highly sophisticated to increase viewing time. These sites give priority to content viewers like and that reinforces their preferences. Viewers will tend to follow accounts that share their opinions and block those that don’t.
The emphasis on likes, shares, and comments spreads sensational and emotionally charged content. Posting and sharing is quick and easy, so that misinformation spreads rapidly among like-minded groups. To think that we used to only rely on the neighborhood gossip to spread our lies. Time and technology are on our team!
Fourth, social media is a good start, but ultimately, we want to get her involved in sites that promote conspiracy theories. We have had some real successes. For years, a significant portion of people believed that the earth was flat. Fie on Christopher Columbus, even if he did do some really good work decimating populations of indigenous peoples!
More recently, we have been able to establish online forums that promote the views that the pyramids were built by aliens, moon landings were faked, and airports contain hidden symbols related to secret organizations that want to create a new world order. Part of the success of these conspiracy sites is that they cause the participants to develop a sense of superiority because only they know about “things as they really are.”
These conspiracy forums are a gold mine for us because they sow the seeds of deep division and contempt, even among friends. One person’s reality is another’s conspiracy theory, and vice versa. Phishhook, provoking contempt for others is our ultimate goal.
Finally, here’s an experiment you might try in your spare time. See if you can replicate the Mandela Effect which involves getting groups of people to share false memories of past events that lead to alternative realities. The term comes from the false belief we successfully planted in the minds of many that Nelson Mandela died while in prison. Phishhook, you could work on big picture false memory projects, such as denying the Holocaust. But it’s probably better that you focus more narrowly, such as getting her and other family members to deny past abuses or other wrongdoings by others in the family. There is nothing like a good festering wound!
As always, be creative. The Lostlings are so vulnerable. Our prospects have never been brighter.
Your optimistic file leader: Mephisto
TO: CK (110-111-1000)
FROM: Clarion Veridiel
Mephisto’s goal of creating contempt is especially dangerous because contempt goes beyond anger and justifies ignoring the viewpoints and feelings of others. It’s the sulfuric acid of emotions that can destroy everything it touches.
I have some thoughts about how to counter the influence of echo chambers. There is no panacea, but these actions can help:
- Seek diverse sources of information, including those that challenge our own views. This may be painful at first, but creating some semblance of balance in what we read and hear is essential. It may be useful to keep a log for a week or so of our sources of information.
- Respectfully listen to people who have different perspectives. It is crucial that we not be formulating instant rebuttals as they speak but listen with the intent of learning and understanding.
- Strive to be aware of our own biases. Analyze how certain we are of our positions and the factual basis for what we believe.
- Remember that the primary purpose of echo chamber algorithms is to keep us on the site as long as possible and not to inform or educate us. These algorithms were created by IT experts, using the latest research, and then tested to determine their effectiveness.
Your loving servant: Clarion Veridiel
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: We don’t realize how subtly and effectively we are manipulated online. Some of it is innocuous. I have a news page that has a pre-set link on the bar of my browser. I spend a few minutes perusing it every day. Invariably, there are links to the best places to travel in the world. Periodically, I see supportive information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During the baseball season there are links to stories about my beloved New York Yankees (sorry if that ended it for some readers). And the political pieces that appear tend to be critical of the politicians I don’t like and report the good deeds by my favorites.
I used to think I was fortunate because so many of my interests appeared on the site. Finally, it dawned on me that I was being drawn into my own unique echo chamber. Fortunately, I’m not on Facebook and don’t follow anyone on “X”, so their evil algorithms haven’t fully ensnared my soul. Or maybe I just don’t realize what has happened and the clever mind snatchers already have me in their clutches!
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If you found this message insightful, explore the rest of the Screwtape Text Messages series below for more behind-the-scenes strategies from the adversary in today’s digital world.
12. Help, I’ve Been Abducted by AI (Alien Intelligence)
11. Trading Religion for Politics
9. Superscams, Fake News, and the Korihor Effect
8. Strategies for Tempting Teens, Girls and Boys
7. Virtual Validation, Cancer Culture, and Cyberbullying
5. Instant Online Gratification
4. Digital Distractions Away from God
1. The FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Crisis
