But history is what the reporter says it is. If a slanted story is told, then all future events may be misinterpreted. If the news today is a lie, then the interpretation of history will be a stunted and gnarled tree.

Mankind has a keen interest in today's news. Those who write the news are given a special trust. They have a duty to all mankind to present the facts as objectively and truthfully as they can. But the editors have the last word. They can kill a story. They can insist that one party be favored. They can strike out important facts to completely alter the sense of the story.

Editors have a duty to mankind, just as the writers. But editors are often reduced to being public relations men for the political party in residence at the moment, by pressure exerted on the ownership through licensing and threatened legal action. The policy may be to always display the opposing view in a bad air, or ignore any opposition leader or statement. Thus only one side is heard, and that side is often presented in the absence of any witness. In a repressive state there is an interest that all witnesses be silenced, one way or another.

What is the result of this censorship and propagandistic use of the written record? History is false. The primary record is not trustworthy. A whole generation or more of the history of a people can be lost forever. In many contemporary countries over 75 years of history must be re-discovered and corrected, because the government suppressed the truth as it happened.

This has happened in Malaysia. The media, represented by the radio, TV, newspapers and magazines, has been controlled through the judiciary system and repressive laws. Those who write the truth are threatened, sued and denied jobs in journalism. No honest voice is allowed. Licenses are denied to newspapers and magazines that offer an independent view. No new radio stations are allowed. No new TV stations are allowed. All news is presented at the same hour, in order that no one can avoid the lies that camouflage the truth.

News that reveals the truth is not allowed out. Transmissions are jammed. Writers for foreign papers are intimidated. Nor is news allowed in. World news from independent sources is banned. Magazines from foreign sources are discouraged and threatened with legal action. Politicians rant daily about the news written by foreign and independent newspapers and TV stations. Lies! All Lies! is their stance.

But there is hunger for the truth. Truth has a nice flavor. It is instantly recognisable by the refreshing uplift it gives. Even bad news that is true outshines good news that is false. The appetite for the truth cannot be satisfied by falsehood, no matter how heavily it is spiced. Newspapers and TV stations that daily publish lies as a matter of policy have a bad smell. They have a nauseous quality.

Enter the internet. The internet has become, in a completely surprising way, the means of capturing the truth of daily events around the world. Although independent countries may be successful in controlling the flow of information to their public, those with internet access can readily find out what is the real story. The internet was conceived as a means to provide equal access to knowledge to anyone in the world who had the basic equipment. Its value as a universal library is unparalleled in human history, but it also has the ability to provide current information. This aspect for providing the real story was unforseen.