Reply To: Q&A With Rav Avigdor Miller

Rav Avigdor Miller on Fake News

,Q:
What is wrong with newspapers?
A:
What is right with them? You have to know that מרשעים יצא רשע – from wicked people, comes out wickedness. Now, who are the people there in the newspaper offices, in the editorial rooms? Atheists! They’re all atheists – they say so themselves. They’re open atheists. So what can you expect of them, except wickedness?! And therefore, everything is wrong with newspapers.
TAPE # 928

Q:
Is there such a thing as a kosher newspaper?
A:
I’m not able to tell you. I didn’t make any investigations or comparisons. There are certainly good things in some of the kosher newspapers, no question. But that I should give a hechsher on everything that they say?! That’s already too much for me.
TAPE # 924

Q:
How do I wipe away the harmful influence that I brought upon myself by reading goyish newspapers for years?
A:
That’s a difficult question because a mind that read newspapers and watched television has already been indelibly impressed forever. Still, it is possible to superimpose on top of that dirty layer, a new layer of kedusha, of idealism, of noble thoughts. And then another layer. And then another. So it depends on how thick and how hard the layers are going to be. Sometimes you can put so much on top that it will bury the bottom layer.

However, whatever enters your mind is there forever. So if you put into your mind thoughts of emunah, thoughts of kedusha – if you listen and you learn, and you generate genuine idealism, then a very great deal can be accomplished. But it all depends, however, on how much you are going to superimpose on top of the old foundation in order to keep it buried.
TAPE # 926