Critical attitude saves lives. But that doesn't always mean a negative attitude.

 

 Critical attitude saves lives. But that doesn't always mean a negative attitude.

Image 1: Indian missile ranges

A critical attitude to information is always important. And there should always be suspicion that shared data is not correct. Or selector is used to selecting one-sided sources. But one of the most dangerous misunderstandings is that criticism is always the same as "deny" or "no". That is not true. 

Criticism means that the person who comments on the writings or news reads sources makes conclusions of the information. The thing is that information is not black and white. The texts might include both true and proven but also non-proven things. 

And one thing that we must realize is that if the writer is tired the human error can cause that writer to forget to separate trusted and confirmed data from theories. And that thing sometimes causes misunderstandings.

But things like knowledge of political culture helps to separate the true and false information. The political culture is different in every country. In the political culture of western nations is one principle. Governments share only trusted, researched, and confirmed information. This principle is not always the criteria for how governments are sharing information. 

Image 2 North-Korean missile ranges

Sometimes actors like the North-Korean government shares information by using criteria that only the information that benefits itself is shared. And those governments are also making nice-looking propaganda campaigns where is introduced the bright side of the nations. Sometimes things like international contacts that those governments ratified.  Are only meant to turn the interest of the other governments away. 

One of the greatest misunderstandings is to believe that all governments are following their international treaties. One of the most well-known cases in that governments have not followed the international treaty is the INF treaty. That international treaty is gone. 

Image 3: Pakistani missile ranges

And Russia and the USA are now outside that treaty. China and other new nuclear powers ever ratified that treaty. And as an example, most of the Pakistani and North-Korean weapons are IRBM missiles (Intermediate-Renge Ballistic missiles). 

Those weapons are prohibited in that treaty. But those nations remained outside that treaty so they didn't break it. Also, new weapon research like more advanced artificial intelligence controlled ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) with stealth warheads makes it possible that those weapons can strike at all distances between the launching point and maximum range. 

Then those countries that are promised to avoid the development of things like nuclear weapons are made their nuclear tests and introduced hydrogen bombs and other kinds of stuff for the entire world. 

Then we might think that is the treaties of biological and chemical weapons followed the same way as the treaties of nuclear weapons? Or maybe those governments have followed those contracts that denied the creation of chemical and biological weapons. 

All chemical agents are not nerve gases. 

And maybe, we want to believe that those governments developed only nuclear weapons. Those are looking cool in media. That is the thing that means that maybe we want to believe that boring-looking chemical weapons like VX-nerve gases or some other nerve agents (G-agents) like sarin, tabun of soman destroyed by their owners. There is one misunderstanding in the nerve agents. 

Most of the G-agents (Nerve gases) in the world are less poisonous than the VX.  The VX is the most dangerous chemical in the world. And its deadly dose is about 20 micrograms. The less-poisonous chemical agents like tabun, sarin, cyclosarin, and soman are easier to control than VX. But they are same time deadly as VX. The thing is that even the VX was not in use the nerve agents can still be used. 

Things like botulinum can easily produce and if it's delivered with acids or vaporized that can easily get the same effect with some synthetic nerve gases. The acid or mustard gas will cause skin injuries that open botulinum access to the human body. And then another thing is that all chemical agents are not even nerve gases. Things like phosgene and chlorine along with mustard gas are still in use. 

Image 4: Israeli missile ranges

Journalists are prime targets for information operations. 

Can we trust media?

That is one thing there is no certain and one answer. Humans are people who are making news. And the news highlights the interest of the people who are making media. If we think purely about technical and scientific news. The people who are making that kind of news and articles should be trained researchers. 

If technical or scientific articles. Are written by some university researchers. Also reading those articles requires some kind of analytic and technical skills. Another thing is that those articles require accurate reading. An analyzer must also read sources. 

Those sources might be very boring. And text is very complicated. In a very complicated scientific text. Every single line can have some mean. So the thing is that reporters might not have the training or interest to read about things that they write. These analyzes are facile. 

Another thing is that the things like DNA genomes and virology are not very often somebody's hobby. Those things are not interesting. And things like RNA retroviruses are not any racecars. Things like vaccine tests are very boring routine missions. So the articles that are written about those things are not very dramatic. 

The thing that controls media is the interest of users of media. And reporters' interest. The thing is that hoaxes and misinformation can form accidentally. If the journalists are not reading or estimating their sources well, that causes problems in the data handling process. 

The thing is that the disinformation or purposely delivered misinformation is forming in somebody's hand or head. The thing that makes that kind of operation problematic is that the primary targets for disinformation operations are reporters and other journalists. 

And when disinformation, what is also called propaganda or PSY-OPS (Psychological Operations) is slipped into trusted news or media service that boosts its effect. The thing is that willing to believe boosts the will to believe. And if a journalist believes something. That thing causes that this person acts as the prime mover in that kind of operation. 

The knowledge of local culture is the thing that makes people use wealth criticism to information. The culture in the western world is always been open. And governments are trusted. But some governments are sharing one-sided information or only information on the government's policy. 

https://nuke.fas.org/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html

https://nuke.fas.org/guide/pakistan/nuke/

https://www.nti.org/news/new-infographic-north-koreas-strategic-threat/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate-Range_Nuclear_Forces_Treaty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction

Image 1: http://missilethreat.csis.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Indian_Web.png

Image 2: https://www.nti.org/news/new-infographic-north-koreas-strategic-threat/

Image 3: https://missilethreat.csis.org/country/pakistan/

Image 4: https://nationalinterest.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop__1260_/public/main_images/csisisraelmissiles.jpg?itok=V-V3vXxy

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