Alright friends, get ready to settle in for a rant. Today, we're going to talk about my biggest pet peeve. So big a pet peeve, that I have been known to become irrationally angry every time I see it happen and then yell about it to my mom on the phone for several minutes at a time. So, please let us spare my mother. She already has to deal with so much when it comes to having me as her daughter.
Today, we're going to talk about fact-checking, because, OH MY GOD PEOPLE.
I'm a reasonable person; there isn't much that annoys or angers me. But this. This.
Every, single day on social media I see them: articles upon articles all headlining news stories that seem a little too good or crazy to be true, pictures giving "life hacks" that seem just a little fabricated, or "fun facts" that take the word "fact" with a grain of salt. Oh, and they're all from sources I've never heard of before...abcnews.com.co.news? Huh. Weird. Oh my gosh, Justin Beiber died? You can type your ATM pin in backward to call the police? "Star Wars" was based on Abraham Lincoln's life?
No. No. No.
The weird thing is the people I'm seeing spreading these articles are often smart. Guys, what, what, what are you doing?
Okay, so how do you spot a fake news story or hoax? Below I've compiled a step-by-step guide:
1. Think, "Hm...does this sound real?"
It's doubtful that Hillary Clinton is secretly an alien who is capable of sucking out people's souls, okay?
2. Think, "Would this be a big news story?
If so, have I heard about this from other sources?" Celebrity deaths, massive political events, etc. would be VERY publicized. You would be seeing multiple articles, not just one.
3. Google it.
Look for familiar, reliable sources. NBC, ABC, WSJ, New York Times. You get the idea.
The whole process takes literally two seconds. No excuses!
So please, for the sake of my sanity–which I clearly already have a loose grip on if this is what keeps me up at night–let's share news responsibly. Reseach before you retweet.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nice warm bath and drink some chamomile tea so I can chill out. Y'all better have this sorted out when I get back.
(Also, no, "Spongebob" isn't getting canceled.)
