To the Editor:

Denying facts because they conflict with a belief is a survival tactic for the human race. We all do it. But now it seems a lot easier for everyone to have their own “facts.” On the Internet you can find “facts” to justify any opinion. Of course, observable, provable, documented facts are out there, but we must be smart enough and honest enough to pick them out of the sea of fake facts .

Here is a good example. In a recent letter defending the Obama administration, I claimed that, “Illegal immigration is currently net zero.” That means that there are just as many illegal aliens leaving the country as are entering. If true it would call into question the fear that the country is being overrun by illegals. This number can be quantified and documented and thus can be a real fact. So how do you determine that it is a real fact and not something made up because someone wants it to be true?

Go to Google and put in “immigration is net zero.” On the first three pages there are 30 links, every link except one  agrees with the net zero “fact.” Google “Immigration is NOT net Zero” and you get the same 30 links.

Almost all the links quote from the same source, the “Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero — and Perhaps Less,” a Pew Research Center report dated Aug. 6, 2012 (www.pewresearch.org ). Numerous sites have reviewed the data from Pew Research and have found it to be valid. They include Reuters, Politifact, The National Journal, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and the National Journal. In fact, highly respected fivethirtyeight.com reviewed the data in July and found it to be accurate.

So who disagrees? It is NEWSMAX, and who is NEWSMAX? It is like Fox News on steroids. You will notice I did not list any obviously left wing or progressive site in the above list. One would be hard put to call the Christian Science Monitor a left wing propaganda outlet.  

So is “immigration is net zero" a real fact, or is it fake fact? You decide.

Louis Vitale

Franklin