125: Fake News, Cancel Culture, and The Growing Need For Online Discernment with Dan Darling

December 8, 2020

Fake news. Online rage. Cancelled out. Silenced. Echo chambers. These phrases did not mean much a decade ago, but they are prevalent today. In a world that relies heavily on digital communication, it is becoming more and more difficult to tease out what is real and what is fake. In Episode 125, Daniel and Christina interview Dan Darling about the importance of “online discernment” and how you can use your online conversations for good.

In This Episode, You Will Hear About:

How you can use your online conversations for good
Learn to use “online discernment” before posting something or responding to someone on social media
Hear about when it is appropriate to “silence” or “cancel out” someone on your social media
A framework of discernment to use when reading the news to know what’s real and what’s fake news

Resources Mentioned During the Episode:

Pick up a copy of Dan Darling’s newest book, A Way With Words: Using Our Online Conversations For Good
The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up In The Story Of Jesus by Dan Darling
Surprised By Paradox: The Promise of “And” In An Either-Or World by Jen Pollock Michael
Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, And Romance Became Our New Romance (and what to do about it) by David Zahl
To find out more about Dan, go to Danieldarling.com

Quotes and Tweets:

God cares about the words that we speak. @dandarling
Discernment is distinguishing between what is true and beautiful and what is not. @dandarling
The idea that I’m not God and I don’t know things means that I need to be curious. The curiosity we have for wisdom and knowledge is good and God-given. @dandarling
Let everyone be quick to get the whole story, slow to post, and slow to digital rage. @dandarling
Remember that when you are online, you are in public. You’re not just behind a keyboard. @dandarling
The quality of our offline life will determine the health of our online life. @dandarling
If you understand that God loves the real version of you – the offline, uncurated, messy version of you – you won’t have to seek affirmation from a tribe online. @dandarling
What is at the heart of our endless need to check in on social media, our never-ending Google searches for fruitless information, and our restlessness in this age of information? @dandarling
One of the lies my phone tells me is that I don’t actually need God. I can control my life and my destiny and the well-being of my family and friends because, with this digital device, I have access to power. @dandarling
We are susceptible to believe the news, to jump ahead of the facts, to not wait for the full story because we want to believe the worst about the people with whom we disagree. @dandarling
Jesus calls us to something better. Rather than erasing people with whom we disagree, he calls us to see every one, even the person who offends our sensibilities the most, as an image-bearer of God. @dandarling

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Meet Dan Darling :

Daniel Darling is the Senior VP for Communications at National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) and served for six years as VP of Communications for ERLC. Dan is the author of nine books, including most recently, “A Way with Words” and the bestselling “The Characters of Christmas.” Dan’s work has been featured in outlets such as USA Today, Washington Post, National Review, and Christianity Today. He and his wife Angela have four children. They attend Green Hill Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, where Dan serves as Pastor of Teaching and Discipleship.