George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 195

< Chapter 194 >

“So, to summarize, Latvia itself is now on a normal recovery track, but the Riga area is still not fully sorted out, right?” Bush asked, tossing the last report on Latvia onto his desk with a frustrated sigh.

“Yes, that’s about right,” his chief of staff confirmed.

“Then why are these articles coming out like this?” Bush exclaimed, pointing to a stack of newspapers.

The headlines screamed:

‘Government Leads the Murder.’

‘Shocking: Riga, A Haven for Murderers.’

‘What is the Latvian Government Doing?’

‘Latvian Army Seizes Riga, but Anarchy Continues Due to Counterattacks.’

Each title was more sensational than the last, dominating the front pages and grabbing the attention of even the most disinterested readers. And it wasn’t just one or two outlets; the entire media landscape seemed to be echoing the same alarming narrative.

“Okay. I guess that could happen,” Bush muttered, trying to remain calm.

In chaotic situations, misinformation was bound to spread. Especially concerning a small country across the Atlantic, far removed from the American continent, inaccuracies were almost inevitable. Similar distortions were likely occurring in other countries as well.

“The problem is, these are all articles from *our* country!” he roared, slamming his fist on the desk.

The sturdy desk, now practically a piece of armory due to its modifications, trembled under the impact. The chief of staff flinched, nervously eyeing the desk, half-expecting it to activate some hidden defense mechanism. “Was the warning insufficient?” Bush wondered aloud.

Perhaps their warnings against spreading misinformation hadn’t been forceful enough. Kim Gap-hwan, and by extension George Bush, despised the saying, ‘For 1% truth, 99% lies are inevitable.’ Their shared aversion to falsehoods had driven them to dismantle the very infrastructure that could produce fake news long before their personalities had fully merged.

“They know better than anyone that cracking down on fake news and developing shale gas are the biggest priorities of our federal government, right?” Bush questioned, his voice laced with disbelief.

That’s what made this situation so perplexing. They had actively worked to eliminate the breeding ground for fake news, so why was it flourishing now? Moreover, the articles, while diverse in their specifics, all converged on the same central theme.

“Latvia is leading the attack on the citizens of Riga? Does that even make sense?” Bush asked rhetorically.

This could easily escalate into a diplomatic crisis. Latvia, overwhelmed by its own problems, remained silent, but Russia seemed to be taking notice. Articles mocking the U.S.’s alleged false news reports and criticizing the current federal government’s projects as wasteful spending were already circulating. Other countries were sharing these articles, pushing Bush to the brink of fury.

He could tolerate criticism on other fronts, but he refused to compromise on the issue of ‘news.’ He remembered all too well how fake news had manipulated and undermined him when he was still Kim Gap-hwan. He was determined to put an end to this, even if it meant the downfall of the Bush administration itself.

If he could only resolve this one issue… Other administrations could handle other matters, but only the current Bush administration possessed the resolve and understanding to tackle this particular problem. If they missed this opportunity, it might be another 50 years before anyone dared to try again. The more fake news was suppressed, the stronger it seemed to become, making it increasingly difficult for future administrations to confront.

By exploiting the public’s desire for a semblance of freedom and the allure of easy money through fabricated articles, these purveyors of misinformation would immediately rally support and denounce any government attempt to regulate the media. Divide and conquer, wasn’t it? The people would fragment, each group blindly devoted to their preferred source of information.

They would fervently embrace any information that aligned with their biases, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood. The United States would descend into a quagmire of ignorance and misinformation unless a miracle intervened.

‘Perhaps then,’ Bush thought grimly, ‘the news outlets would declare, “This government is becoming just like the Bush administration, suppressing the media!” They would undoubtedly wield it as an invincible weapon.’

If that happened, the financial burden on the government would be immense. Or, the government might revert to its old ways, compromising with the media in a mutually beneficial arrangement. When that day arrived, the people would be left to fend for themselves, distrusting all sources of information, including the government, and retreating further into their own isolated realities.

“We must resolve this during our administration. We can’t pass this burden on to the next generation,” Bush declared with conviction.

While Bush was consumed by his frustration, lamenting the potential ruin of his life’s work of ‘delivering accurate information,’ the chief of staff was lost in thought. He carefully considered all the available information and circumstances, and a plausible explanation began to form in his mind.

“Perhaps the domestic media are all relying on a single source,” he suggested cautiously.

Bush’s anger subsided slightly, and he fixed the chief of staff with a sharp gaze. The intensity of the look almost made the chief of staff falter. Few could withstand the intimidating stare of a muscular man who looked as if he were ready to kill.

“A singular source?” Bush repeated, prompting the chief of staff to elaborate.

“It would make sense if all the American media were drawing from the same well. Given the tight control you imposed, cutting off Riga’s internet access and even restricting war correspondents…”

From the outset, it was somewhat of a misnomer to send war correspondents to Riga, as there was no actual war taking place, but the chief of staff decided not to dwell on that point.

“What channels are there for obtaining news from Latvia?” Bush pressed.

“There are numerous avenues for acquiring *inaccurate* information, but as far as I know, the only reliable source of news for reporters and civilians is ‘the Latvian government’ itself. Otherwise, it’s possible that civilians who fled Riga in the aftermath of its collapse are spreading false information to discredit the government.”

Nothing was certain yet, but Bush immediately recognized that this situation was a consequence of his overzealous suppression of the media. The news outlets, starved for sensational stories, were seizing upon any information, however dubious, that promised to generate excitement. Having had their fun with fake news taken away, they were desperate to create fun from real information.

“Damn it. To be plagued by overseas news, not domestic… Seriously,” Bush grumbled.

The first step in combating the ‘ignorance’ that plagued Americans was to eliminate misinformation. Some might disagree, but Bush firmly believed in this principle.

“Well, what’s done is done,” he sighed.

Other countries might simply issue a minor correction on a broadcasting station’s website without acknowledging the initial error as misinformation, but that was not the case in the United States. Bush had ensured that. He had enacted a law mandating the correction of all misinformation. Initially, this had sparked considerable debate.

For instance, some argued that if half of the news consisted of misinformation, wouldn’t broadcasting stations be forced to dedicate more than half of their airtime to corrections? This could potentially cripple programming and lead to the decline or collapse of the stations. Viewers, burdened with consuming these corrections, would feel more fatigued than informed.

To this, the President had simply replied, “That’s your problem.”

Consequently, most broadcasting stations opted to create separate correction programs during specific time slots. At first, it was a humiliating endeavor, but when viewers began to tune in, they even started inserting advertisements between the corrections.

Perhaps it was because they were adept at profiting from even the most trivial matters, or perhaps they had foreseen this outcome, but most broadcasting stations embraced this approach. Those that didn’t faced the full force of the law in the public eye, along with increasing difficulty in obtaining information and the gradual erosion of their network of collaborators.

In any case, at the time, it seemed like a viable alternative, even if it wasn’t perfect. However, it had inadvertently created a side effect: the notion that ‘It’s okay to put out misinformation as long as you issue a correction’ or ‘Intentionally put out misinformation to boost the ratings of the correction program.’

Fox, surprisingly, proved to be the most cautious among the major broadcasting stations, while others actively exploited the loopholes in the new broadcasting law, raking in money through increased ratings and advertising revenue.

‘Come to think of it, he’s managed not to fall into misanthropy,’ Bush mused.

This was largely due to Bush’s inherent tendency to trust people until proven otherwise. This trait had made him susceptible to manipulation and had nearly led to the complete ruin of the United States, but it wasn’t inherently negative. However, it was a significant flaw for someone in his position.

‘Elitism and a sense of superiority, too,’ he added to himself.

Honestly, once he became president, it would have been more surprising if he *hadn’t* begun to view the general public as a collection of ignorant beings. The listeners might find it offensive, but he couldn’t help but feel that way. If an adult living in America didn’t even know where America was located, that was undeniably a problem, to say the least. When he was Kim Gap-hwan, he would have simply said, ‘So, people like that can live in the world.’

He suspected that if he didn’t possess this positive physical form, he might have become a ruthless dictator or something similar. In a way, this body was a miracle. He had risen to the most corrupt position in the world, yet his mind remained remarkably naive.

As a result, he was swayed, manipulated, and nearly destroyed. He lacked a certain degree of malice. He wasn’t referring to grit or an unyielding spirit, but rather a fundamental lack of evil.

“So, the problem now is…”

“That these guys are actually abusing the law, and we can’t do anything about it right now,” the chief of staff finished.

To rectify this, a major overhaul of the broadcasting law was necessary. Unlike other issues, this couldn’t be resolved simply by throwing money at it. Of course, Bush could always resort to brute force, declaring, ‘Stop playing with the law and don’t be ridiculous!’ and crushing all opposition, but he preferred to keep that as a last resort. He wanted to avoid illegal actions whenever possible. Illegal acts were, after all, illegal.

He could, of course, manipulate the system to make illegal actions legal, but as he constantly emphasized, the future was the primary concern. Bush was confident in his ability to use such power responsibly, but there was no guarantee that the next president would do the same.

“We need to determine if this information about Riga is deliberately false, spread to sabotage national projects,” Bush stated firmly.

There were numerous potential culprits. It could be survivors who had genuinely escaped from Riga, or another country might be systematically disseminating false information to undermine Bush’s administration’s projects and weaken the nation’s power.

“There’s one suspect that I find particularly suspicious,” Bush said, his eyes narrowing.

Russia. The Siberian bear, enraged by the theft of its top-secret data.