About two years ago, I decided to stop paying attention to the news, and I haven’t looked back since.

I’m not sure this is inherently a good thing. I believe part of being a good citizen is being an informed citizen. But there really is so much nonsense now, so much polarization, that I find it difficult to be a consumer of the news, in all its formats. Everything seems to have a political bent.

Before I stopped paying attention, I would read American news online at aljazeera.com, because I figured it was a more neutral perspective, and an outside one can definitely be thought-provoking. But all websites are search engine optimized, all are designed to keep you on the page to generate ad revenue.

How can we reclaim our news? How can we know, and trust that they are, indeed, the facts? This is particularly relevant right now considering what’s happening with Donald Trump.

All the way across the world, the technology exists for me to stay connected. But does our current system enable me to stay informed, or does it prod me towards a predetermined verdict?