Is there a word for the noise that results from institutions making errors?

[karen star]

In the sense that there is signal and there is noise, and the noise often gets more attention than the signal...is there a word that means that noise? I'm especially looking for a single word that means the noise created by institutions (government, religious institutions, the NRA, the ACLU or WHOEVER that misinforms whether it is deliberate or not). For example, someone had the idea that the universe was earth-centered, and Galileo was persecuted for observing that the earth actually circled the sun. The earth-centered universe theory was noise - institutionalized noise.

IS there a word for this?
The chaff with the wheat?
What I'm talking about is often accompanied by hubris, but hubris is the arrogance that leads one to institutionalize the noise, not the noise itself.

[Gene]

The only word that comes to my mind (repeatedly and causing me great anguish and anger) is the word OBFUSCATION.

My Oxford dictionary describes obfuscate as: v, make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. I would add to that - telling lies, DELIVERING THE BIG LIE (Because the public needs to be mislead for their own good), or simply quacking because many of our political leaders just love whatever comes out of their mouth and can't imagine the possibility that it isn't the sweetest sound on earth to all their admirers. If they don't know the answer to a question, or when they want to avoid admitting to having made a mistake, politicians may just start quacking (the public is so used to the obfuscation of quacking that they generally don't even know they are being quacked at).

Anyway, many public servants are masters at obfuscation, they obfuscate so much that they don't know they are even doing it and they somehow manage to convince others that what they are hearing is absolutely reasonable and truthful. Furthermore, anyone actually speaking the truth (as in your example regarding Galileo) is easily held up for ridicule and the masses will tend to believe that they are insane. It's like the story of "The Kings New Clothes" all over again.

People in the congress of the USA obfuscate often (weapons of mass destruction). If somebody wants more information or disagrees with the trend, then the obfuscation may be to insinuate that the person not following the other ducks in a neat row may be disloyal, cowardly, or misguided.

I have been experimenting recently by enjoying silence while at home, listening to peaceful music, and avoiding the media altogether. Then I may watch a football game on t.v. and I can't believe what the commercials are telling us. The evening news is almost as bad. We are treated like children and I wonder if anyone cares about truth any more?

I resist the temptation to scream and pitch a fit. I just ignore it. I have the same frustration dealing with people who work for institutions like hospitals, insurance companies, etc... Dialing 911 in an emergency has been another huge test. You cannot get help until you are bombarded by many idiotic questions and it's often a waste of time to call 911 at all.

One recent encounter was refreshing and didn't cause me to go nutty at all: I was able to sign up for Social Security retirement benefits online in less than 10 minutes and I got a check the following month (AMAZING!).