Check the facts before reposting!
Making informed decisions and persuading others to your views requires credibility and nothing destroys credibility more quickly than unknowing publishing lies. With products like Photoshop and with 'build your own website' tools that even a 4th grader can follow, we need to make a little effort to check the facts.
There are enough facts about hot-button issues like police shootings, immigration, DREAMERS and the building of a border wall for anyone to justify and make persuasive arguments that support their beliefs. Posting lies, fake photos, rumors and the like only take away from your opinions. The darn trouble is that researching real facts takes effort and reposting everything that comes your way that supports your opinion is simple. (I leave 'simple' to those who are simple-minded).
Emails, Tweets and Facebook posts can easily be verified by visiting websites like https://www.snopes.com/, http://www.politifact.com/, etc.
Controversial photographs that do not include the date, location and event should never be re-posted. Those with this basic information can be checked in the same way that you can check emails.
Youtube videos are often misleading as are videos from news outlets. Try turning off the volume and let your mind determine what is happening. Consider what could have happened before the camera was turned on and try to draw several conflicting conclusions. Then watch the video with the sound turned on - paying attention to adverbs and adjectives. (Adverbs and adjectives in articles and speech often influence what we conclude).
Always consider the source. GOOGLE the name of websites and media outlets with the words: conservative or liberal.
Photoshop is used by millions of people who do not really know more than the basics, so their lousy alterations and additions to the original photos are easy to spot. Shadows and reflections in windows are often dead giveaways. Protest signs are altered and sometimes the sign itself is made larger so that more words can be put on the fake sign. When this is done by a novice the edge of the added portion may not line-up with the original sign and fingers disappear. The bottom line with controversial photos with a political agenda is simple: no location, date or event = never repost it.
On the other hand, posting lies that support your cause will make the friends who support the same cause happy and they will quickly repost it.
No comments:
Post a Comment