Seeing Not Always Believing

The posting of videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites is nothing new.  For several years, videos ranging from the serious to the proverbial cute cat movies have been available on line.  More recently, on line video sharing has become a tool of disseminating news, political discourse, and propaganda.  Many political scientists maintain that the recent Arab Spring movement was made possible in large part by the effective use of social media using online video.

Up until very recently, these videos were recorded and uploaded to the internet for watching on a delayed basis in non-real time.  The number of people viewing over time often counted into the millions.  For sure the videos have been effective, but there is nothing quite like live TV—nothing like seeing and often being a part of what is happening right now.

The newest generation of technologies takes online video to another level.  There are now several services that provide inexpensive live streaming to a worldwide audience.  Once the province only of well financed major news operations, live distribution of TV required expensive satellite equipment, complicated gear, and highly skilled technicians.

Today, a mobile phone with a camera, an internet connection, and a subscription to a streaming service can allow most anyone to broadcast a live event to a worldwide audience.

In some cases, this technology is bypassing traditional TV networks.  For example, the recent LumenoCity Concerts (presented by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from Washington Park in Cincinnati) were streamed live to anyone with a computer, iPad, or smartphone.  There was no need for a traditional TV channel.

Perhaps some of the most dramatic and revolutionary use of live streaming comes from the violent conflicts in the middle-east and Ukraine.  There has been a steady stream of live video feeds coming from well organized government factions as well as from private citizen journalists.

As we watch this coverage, we might find the adage “seeing is believing” may not be quite as true as we’d like to believe.  While this new high-tech live video coverage might well give a real time look at what is going on, it is important to remember that these views often are being provided by biased reporters or even agents of the government or political faction.  A camera might focus on a small portion of a demonstration or battle and give a false impression of what is actually going on.  With greater access to live streaming should come greater scepticism of what is broadcast.  We need always ask what it is that we are not seeing.