Imagine you became famous. What would you want it to be for? What would you want to do with it? Typically, fame is not a choice. Many people want it, but can't have it. Others, by contrast, have it, but don't want it. But given the choice, most people want to be famous for something good, reaping all of the benefits; Money, power, adoration.
While none of us have the choice, we nevertheless make the effort. Even if not through fame, we all want a comfortable life. We want to live in nice houses, we want to eat nice food, we want to have lots of friends. And we don't want to lose what we have. The best way to live a peaceful life, however, is to simply go with the flow. Don't speak truth to power, let power define truth. Don't be an individual, blend in. Don't bite the hands who claim to feed you, lest they take food out of your very mouth.
Now picture a humble funeral director, like John O'Looney. In September 2021, O'Looney began to testify of suspicious phenomena he and his peers had observed regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. In this world, that is something you simply do not do if you want a peaceful life. Media will slander you, social media will censor you, your own friends will leave you. For that reason, many other funeral directors are afraid to say what O'Looney says.
The question, then, is what does O'Looney stand to gain with his so-called "misinformation"? He stands to lose a lot. The quiet life, out of the public eye, which he has enjoyed until now, is suddenly under threat. It stands to reason, then, that even if you don't agree with his conclusions, he obviously does. He isn't lying, he isn't just trying to get his 15 minutes of fame, he genuinely believes what he is saying.
Compare him with Anthony Fauci. I wish I loved Jesus as much as that man loves the spotlight. The power and influence that man wields, even ignoring his massive income, is unbelievable. He says wear a mask? The entire world masks up. He gets caught admitting he lied about that in an email? Well, his motives were right... So let's believe him when he comes back later and says 2 masks are better than one! This man has so much power over the world, he could well be the flesh incarnation of Satan!
Misinformation is a hot topic in today's world, because no lie likes to be questioned. Whether it be Covid-19, man-made climate change, gun control, you name it, lies don't like to be challenged. But the thing about a lie is it is naturally the antithesis of the truth. It will call the truth "misinformation". And this is how it protects itself from the questions it will not survive. When these questions arise, "that's hate speech!", "that's misinformation!", "that's legal, but harmful, so you should be banned from saying it!"
It is ironic that the same people saying these things will suggest it is impossible to be racist against white people because white people have all the power. Who has the power in this world? Satan. Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). The whole world lies under his sway (1 John 5:19), this father of lies (John 8:44). If power makes sin greater, then how can the powerless be so guilty of misinformation that their very right to freedom of expression must be infringed?
This world is full of misinformation, but it does not come from powerless people like John O'Looney. It comes from the powers that be. Governments, celebrities, religious leaders, those who would seek to crush their opponents, often with great success. If someone is capable of ruining your life for spreading what they deem as misinformation, they should be treated with the most suspicion, and receive the greatest scrutiny! Watch how they respond to your challenge. Is it with real truth, or with disdain? Do they hate the very fact that you would disagree? Then they fear disagreement. And there is likely a reason. Those who would shut down misinformation, rather than respond to it, would shut down the truth.
As Christians, our very faith is based on what the devil would call "misinformation". "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence." (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
The founders of our faith had nothing to gain from the faith, unless of course it was true. Back then, it wasn't a Twitter suspension you had to worry about. You could be imprisoned. You could be flogged. You could lose your property, even your very life. From a worldly perspective, Peter would have been better off staying on his fishing boat, rather than hanging upside down on a cross. And Paul, who gave up his position that allowed him to kill Christians, had no worldly motive to be beheaded as one. These are just two martyrs who died for their confession that they had seen the risen Lord. The world could easily have crushed Christianity, not by crushing its followers, but by simply producing the body of Christ. Even without that body, surely they could have come up with a better argument than "stop preaching this religion, or we'll kill you"?
The world has "misinformation" upside down. Misinformation is not about challenging the prevailing ideas of the time, for even a lie can be popular. In fact, it is said a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its trousers on. But it takes real courage to believe something, knowing that preaching it will gain you nothing, yet preach it anyway. Truth does not fear misinformation, for the same reason a pride of lions does not fear one hyena. But misinformation fears the slightest question. Question the Christian faith, and know that it will stand the test. "Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21).