The Socrates method against gossip and Fake News

THE Socrates, one of the greatest Greek philosophers, avoided gossip and fake news, which was a favorite habit in ancient Greece, as many historians confirm. People of all social classes spent a lot of time spreading rumors, hearsay, and half-truths.

It is said that one day he met an acquaintance of his, who ran up excitedly and said to him: "Socrates, do you know what I heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a minute," socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I want you to pass a little test, which we call the Triple Filter."

"Triple filter?" his friend asked.

"Exactly", socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student, let's filter what you're going to say. The first filter is the Truth"Are you sure that what you are going to tell me is really true?"

"No", the man admitted, "I just heard it and..."

"So you don't know if it's true. Now we go to the second filter, the filter of Kindness"Is what you want to tell me something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So you want to tell me something bad about him, when you're not sure if it's true?" The man shrugged, embarrassed. "There is a third filter, the filter of Utility"Will What you want to tell me be useful to me?"

"No, not at all," the man admitted.

"Well", socrates concluded, "if what you want to say is neither True, nor Good, nor Useful"Why would you say that at all?"

The man who tried to spread gossip about the great philosopher felt ashamed and was defeated.

A favorite habit

Gossip and the fake news it was a powerful tool in the hands of slaves, who wanted to punish their masters when they were wronged. Masters were concerned that a slave might see or hear something in the house that would be used against them in court or in public opinion.

The ancient Greeks even had a goddess who represented gossip: Reputation, daughter of Gaia. Roman poets described her as a fearsome winged creature who delighted in meddling in the affairs of men. Beneath each wing was a watchful eye, a strained ear, and a tongue ready to speak. She flew swiftly, spreading lies and half-truths to anyone who would listen.

Slaves and women of low social status could use gossip as their only weapon against their enemies. This spread of rumors throughout society created bridges between the weak and the strong, the rich and the poor, the masters and the slaves.

THE Aristotle he saw gossip as a trivial but fun pastime, but he recognized that it could also have a malicious purpose when it came from someone who had been wronged. Malicious gossip could seriously damage a person's reputation.

Gossip and fake news in the courts of ancient Athens

In ancient Athens, judicial decisions were based primarily on the character of the accused and less on the evidence. A person's reputation was crucial to the outcome of the trial.

Without professional judges, orators sought to discredit their opponents in the eyes of the jury, presenting themselves as upstanding citizens. Fear of the power of rumors made litigants careful how they would counter negative gossip that had been circulated about them.

Due to the large gatherings, The agora and other public spaces were ideal places to spread fake news with the aim of hitting an opponent.

Women as users of rumors

Women in ancient Athens had no legal rights and were dependent on their male relatives. However, they had a powerful weapon: gossip. Through it, they could attack their enemies and defame opponents in court.

Women of low social status, without access to justice, used rumors to seek revenge when they were wronged. The Athenians systematically exploited gossip in rhetoric to harm their opponents.

The use of rumors by women, slaves, and non-citizens shows that in ancient Greece everyone could use a powerful weapon to achieve justice, even if they did not have formal access to justice.