Hey there, incredibly smart, well-read and, dare I say, really good-looking person reading this article … I’ve got a question for you: why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?
No, wait. That’s not the real question, that’s just silly. Here’s the real question: are you reading this article on the Internet’s famous Facebook?
There are no wrong answers to this question. If you answered “no” and are reading an actual hard-copy newspaper with my smug mugshot pasted right there on the page in real ink, congratulations on doing your part to stay informed and keep the venerable print newspaper industry up and running. Feel free to pat yourself on the back, call your wife or husband or dog into your breakfast nook and declare “this smug chap makes a great point – he says I’m really good-looking.”
If, however, you answered “yes” and indeed arrived at this article through Facebook – posted right below a photo you wish you could un-see of your aunt in Las Vegas, and above a video of a farting hippo – then you are like millions and millions of people around the world who are getting much of their daily news from this addictive and easy-to-use service.
So here comes another question, for the Facebook crew and everyone else as well: How do you know that I’m a genuine person and not some lying sack of Trump?
For those of you reading the North Shore News in print form at home, there’s a decent chance you’ve been getting the paper for years, you’ve met the publisher, you’ve used our pages to line your green bin. In other words, you know us, and you trust us to keep you informed about your community and to keep your floor free of coffee grounds.
If, however, this article popped up on your Facebook feed, you may have a much more tenuous connection to the source of these words. I urge you to take a look around this webpage and decide for yourself if you should trust me and the things I’m writing.
I say I’m a family man with folksy Canadian values, all of my original teeth, and sober opinions about the way humans can get along without getting coldly furious Liam Neeson involved. But how do you know that’s who I really am? How do you know I’m not a Russian secret agent posing as a Rhode Island schoolgirl posing as a lobster-stuffed ravioli posing as a newspaper columnist?
Are there any clues that something is fishy? The word “sober” perhaps?
If you’re online, note all the other trappings of our website – the links to other articles, the contact info, the important link at the bottom of the page with a detailed study concluding that “what Daisy Duke looks like now is insane” – there should be enough evidence there to assure you that what you are reading is legitimate, and that I’ve had, at most, just two drinks this morning.
Here’s the point, though: it’s now more important than ever that you take the time to verify what you are reading online, including articles that are being talked about by your “friends” on Facebook.
Why? Because many, many, many of the articles on Facebook are pure, 100 per cent garbage.
They’re fake, in that they are written by real people who probably are not who they say they are and who have no interest in writing something that is true, but rather they are interested in making money by getting you to click on their junk.
These “writers” certainly don’t care if what you are reading is true, and neither does Facebook. BuzzFeed News analyzed Facebook use in the lead-up to the U.S. election and found that the 20 top-performing fake election stories – all completely fabricated – generated 8,711,000 shares, reactions, and comments. That is one million more than the 20 top-performing real election stories from mainstream media sites.
Now, we’ve already established that you’re incredibly smart, but don’t be fooled – even clever people can be taken in by fake news. Even Donald J. Trump – a man so smart that they made him president of the United States of America – has fallen for fake news hoaxes. Last year he shared wildly incorrect and inflammatory data originally published online by the Crime Statistics Bureau, an organization that does not exist.
BuzzFeed News also reported on a group of teens in a little town in Macedonia who spent the last few months making a fortune off of posting fake pro-Trump stories on Facebook. And yes, I do get the irony in citing something called BuzzFeed News in my plea for truth in media. Whatever – I’m sure CNN would have gotten around to doing the same research as soon as they were done broadcasting all of Trump’s campaign rallies in their entirety.
Anyway, here’s how you can avoid being duped, if you’re actually interested in such a thing. If you have any doubt about something you’re reading, remember these three little letters: WTF. No, not that WTF. Simply ask yourself this: Where’s this from? Find the source. Is it real? Can you trust it? Do a sniff test – if it looks like lobster ravioli but smells like a Macedonian teen, squirt your eyes with Febreze and take another hard look.
As global events have shown us over the past month, a little misinformation can go a long way, and a lot of misinformation can go to the ends of the Earth. Literally, perhaps.
So don’t be duped! And for those of you still wondering why you can’t hear the pterodactyl go to the bathroom – the answer is quite simple. The “p” is silent.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
