Where is the truth and who has it?

I came across an article on the film “Loose Change” this weekend. Self-funded and produced by 22-year old Dylan Avery, the film began as a screenplay about the fictional account of he and a group of friends discovering that September 11^th was not a terrorist act of violence, but rather a US government-led attack.

As Avery explains on his site, upon researching for the movie it became apparent to him that the premise may not have been fiction. Thus, he creates the documentary – which gets picked up virally and is now one of the most watched videos on the Web. From his site:

"Loose Change 2nd Edition" is the follow-up to the most provocative 9-11 documentary on the market today. This film shows direct connection between the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the United States government. Evidence is derived from news footage, scientific fact, and most important, Americans who suffered through that tragic day. IT IS EVERYONE'S DUTY TO VIEW THIS FILM!

Truth be told, I have not seen the film. And I’m not sure I want to…I have a mental block on all films related to September 11^th. But the premise got me thinking about the power of the web to spread information – all information – correct and incorrect and how it frightens me that the line shifts so often and so easily.

I don’t claim that Avery’s film is a lie. But it is disturbing me that with the vast amount of information that is disseminated each day, it is becoming harder and harder to ascertain what the truth is.

In my mind, if there was an inch of truth the film, wouldn’t major newspapers such as The New York Times be picking it up and running with it? Or would they be too scared to act on anything given the chill the FCC has spread across our media?

The Internet is a glorious thing – and content generated by ordinary people is a phenomenal infoscape of experiences. (It is also one of the first things a good marketing agency leads with on a pitch – which really needs to give you pause). What is troubling to me is that ordinary people don’t subscribe to the same code of ethics as a journalist. It’s like when a cop becomes a private eye and doesn’t have to follow the law anymore…sometimes a good thing, sometimes scary.

That’s not to say that the state of journalism is polished and pretty. It’s actually quite disappointing. Still…I keep coming back to the idea that it is a profession for a reason.

So, Mr. Avery – he may have all the good intentions in the world…at the end of the day, I cannot wrap my head around his inspiration for the movie coming from a conversation with James Gandolfini. I pretty much stop considering him a viable resource after that.

As you can tell by the tangential narration of this article – I’m still trying to figure this out.