When my daughter started high school in the year 2000, just 20 years ago. The internet was still new enough that some teachers were concerned about information that the students would get online using websites and not just books and magazines. Would it be real? Would it be fake? The librarian put together a group of parents who volunteered to check websites to make sure the information the students would find was accurate.
I volunteered to be one of these parents. I did this for two years. Every week or so, I would be sent a list of websites to check out. Which I did immediately. To be honest, after being a research assistant for a professor in college, then getting a master’s degree in journalism, searching for the truth was something that I loved doing. This was the perfect volunteer position.
My search or need for truth reverberated in my family as well. When my children got in trouble, they knew the rule. Tell me truthfully what happened. You will face consequences, but it will not be too bad as long as you tell the truth. Tell a lie and the consequences doubled. I hate lies.
That is my biggest problem with social media: the lies; the misinformation; the harmful memes that express false information. I especially hate when a photo from 2, or 3, or7 years ago is used to say this happened now. Like a photo of a vandalized replica of the Vietnam War Memorial which inferred that Black Life Matters protestors vandalized the memorial in Washington DC. Sorry that photo was four years old; Had nothing to do with Black Life Matters; and was a replica of the wall, not the real. So, of course, I had to post the truth in the comments.
The number of misinformed posts disheartens me. I have to do something!!
I decided that my new calling was to rout out these lies and the false information on Facebook. It offends me that the powers that be allow these lies to rotate through again and again. It horrifies me that sometimes people leave the false post up even when multitude of people tell them it is fake or false. I feel much better when people take the fake meme or photo or article down! It is a disservice to humanity.
There are people out there whose main purpose in life seems to be to sow discord and distrust among us. But I also know there are governments who do that as well. On Fareed Zackaria GPS today, he had two experts on who spoke about the misinformation campaigns currently being waged by China, Russia and Iran against the US and the 2020 election. They play on people’s emotions to polarize us. And people keep falling for the lies.
Look we are polarized enough. We need to find compromise and learn to speak to each other again. STOP believing all you see on Facebook. Many of the memes are made by people telling lies. I have seen this coming from both sides of the political world as well as outside sources.
If you post something that is not true and I see it. I will find the articles that refute. Please take the fake post down and report it.
Do not let social media be your only news source. Try the Flip Side. This daily news email takes one topic a day and provides content from the conservative and liberal sides. You see all the comments. And you see what people are really say. Here is a link to sign up for it: https://theflipside.io?rh_ref=4a061f4d
Do not just mindlessly repost something without first reading it or checking it or making sure it is the truth. I don’t care if you are way right or way left, both sides are driving me crazy with ridiculous memes and posts.
Some of my friends might begin to get annoyed with me. I am not sorry. If you are posting misinformation, I am going to comment with the truth and with another article to support my claim. If we all started doing this. If we all checked what we posted before we posted it, maybe the world can be a bit happier. It is obvious to me that there are people who want to spread strife and discord.
Please do not become part of the problem. Check your sources. I do not care what political side you are on. Just post articles and memes that are true!
zicharonot 