Taleb's Crisis News Filter
Share
A framework for consuming news based on Nassim Taleb's philosophy that most news is noise except during genuine crises.
Core Philosophy
- 99.9% of daily news is noise and not worth consuming
- Only read news during genuine crises when signal-to-noise ratio is high
- The threshold for what constitutes "urgent" news should be very high
When to Consume News
- During legitimate crises
- Major geopolitical events (e.g., wars)
- Global pandemics
- Financial system disruptions
- When there's actionable information that affects your life
- When the news has real signal vs just noise
How to Approach News Consumption
- Ask yourself: "Am I using the news or is the news using me?"
- Avoid 24/7 news coverage even during crises
- News channels use crises for viewership
- Constant updates rarely provide value
- Don't feel pressured to stay "in tune with world realities"
- Focus on governing yourself first
- Most daily news doesn't impact your direct sphere of influence
Historical Context
- CNN became profitable in 1989-1990 during Iraq-Kuwait war
- First live war coverage changed public sentiment
- Modern equivalent is social media during crises
- Platforms like Twitter/Facebook see massive engagement during major events
- News organizations optimize for engagement during crises
- 24/7 coverage
- "Breaking news" cycles
- Constant updates
Better Approach
- Default to not consuming news
- Only tune in during genuine crises
- Focus on high-signal information
- Avoid getting pulled into the constant news cycle
- Maintain perspective on what actually matters to your life
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.