I know it's really hard to distinguish what is true from what isn't on the Internet. I'm on the Internet a lot, too. I know the struggle. Pictures are photoshopped. Seemingly credible news sites share fake stories and fake news sites share seemingly real stories. It's incredibly frustrating. I mean, I love the Internet and the plethora of information I have at my fingertips, but I also hate the Internet for that exact reason. There's TOO much information. Most of it isn't even true information. People intentionally create things for the sole purpose of deceiving the masses. Maybe they want to sway you to their side on some political topic, maybe they want to attract trolls and get into an Internet debate, maybe they want to gain traffic on their website, or maybe they want to earn revenue from that very traffic. Who knows? All I do know is that there are an abundance of deceivers online and we've got to stop believing everything we read.
So what exactly am I referring to?
I'm referring to things like this:
And this:
And this:
Seems legit, right? After all, it's got a quote on it AND a picture of who or what it's about. But please notice that nowhere does it reference a credible source as to where it came from. And yet despite it having no evidence of being credible, it circulates on my newsfeed...multiple times. Was there another school shooting? Whip out this handy, completely untrue gun-control infographic so Obama won't take your guns! Is the Pope visiting? Share this quote that he didn't even say! And hey, was there yet another police shooting of an unarmed black man? Let's muddle the reputation of the victim's family with this completely untrue information!
I know, I know...I'm getting all "political" on you. But let's go ahead and get a more in-depth look at these "infographic" memes.
First, gun control. Before we really get into the details, let's just take a quick moment to recognize that in this chart we are comparing a drug-ridden third-world country to one of the richest first-world countries in the world. There could not be two more completely opposite countries that this meme creator could have chosen, and guns are not going to be the ONLY factor attributing to homicide rates. It would make much more sense to compare Switzerland with Austria, or Honduras with Columbia, if they did indeed have vastly different gun laws. Second of all, let it be pointed out that Switzerland does not have the lowest homicide rate in the entire world. It's low, but it's not THE lowest. I know, I know, it's a tiny detail, but if we're pursuing truth here, then let's make sure that what's being presented is the unobscured and unskewed truth. Third, don't you think that in a discussion about gun control you should actually compare gun-related deaths and not just the overall homicide rate? After all, how do we know that 80% of Switzerland's homicides aren't committed with knives, or bombs, or baseball bats, or even those pens chained to desks in banks or NERF guns? And the same goes for Honduras. And last, but certainly not least, I'd like to point out that not only does Honduras NOT have a ban on guns, but the Swiss are also NOT required to own guns. According to snopes.com:
Honduras enacted a ban on open and concealed carry in 2007, but a 2012 news report stated that "under the existing law, citizens are allowed to own as many as five personal firearms," and in mid-2014 Guns & Ammo rated Honduras as one of the "10 Best Countries for Gun Owners," saying that "Hondurans may purchase most popular types of shotguns, handguns or rifles for the recognized purposes of self-defense and recreation." While Switzerland ranks fourth among all countries in gun ownership per capita (much higher than Honduras), they do not "require" all their citizens to own guns. Switzerland has a long history of mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens. The government issues firearms to conscripted men which, after training, they take home with them and keep until the conclusion of their military obligation (about age 34 for non-officers), but no other citizens are "required" to own guns.
So there ya have it, literally the only true thing in this handy anti gun-control meme is that Honduras and Switzerland have roughly the same population. That's it. It is false, it is a lie, it is deceitful...and yet many believed it...and then they shared it.
Now let's have a look at meme #2:
This one was circulated pretty recently since the Pope just toured the U.S. and it's pretty personal for me, because when someone shared it on my Facebook, I actually did try to research it. I googled it and went to what seemed like a legit news website. I glanced at a couple other articles on the website that seemed true, but spent the bulk of my time trying to find an "About Us" section on the website where I could read about whether or not it was an "ironic" or "sarcastic" site. I couldn't find ANYTHING of the sort, so I decided I had done enough research and messaged my husband. I wrote, "I can't believe the pope said this!" He clicked on the article and quickly responded, "Uh, babe, I think you need to look at the other articles on this website. I don't think this is real." Lo and behold, when I went back to the site and spent more time looking at the other headlines, it became abundantly clear that it was a fake website. Believe me, I was very happy that I said something to my hubby BEFORE I ever shared it or commented on the post. I mean, I'm a librarian for crying out loud...I KNOW BETTER. And yet I still fell for it, and it TICKED ME OFF. Because honestly, I shouldn't have to spend more than 10 minutes researching whether or not something is true...I shouldn't have to research at all! But we do...because of sites like this, we HAVE to invest the time it takes to research it. The truth is important, and we need to make sure that we're spreading truth, not deception. There are people in your life who trust what you say, so it's high time you started being trustworthy in everything that you share.
On to meme #3:
Oooo...this one was a HOT TOPIC on Facebook. A lot of people had a lot to say about Michael Brown following his death by Officer Darrin Wilson, and I can conclude after a lot of my own research (which included poring over the actual police testimonies of Wilson and the many witnesses to Brown's shooting) that there was a lot of false info. out there. Yes, that includes this very pointed meme. ESPECIALLY this meme. Yes, some parts of it are true. For example, that is indeed Michael Brown's mother pictured above, Lesley McSpadden, and it is true that she didn't ever marry Michael's biological father. However, a majority of this meme is not true. For example, the man pictured next to her isn't her boyfriend...that is actually none other than Michael's biological father, Michael Brown, Sr. If it were actually who it claims to be---Louis Head---we would also learn from some quick research that he is not merely Lesley's boyfriend, but her husband, and they wed in July of 2014, just a month before Michael was shot and killed. If you google Louis Head real quick, you'll find that the two men look nothing alike. (You're not off to a good start, meme.) Let's continue on to the next person mentioned in the meme: Pearlie Gordon. I think it's important for you to know that Pearlie Gordon is not Michael's biological grandmother, but instead Michael Brown Sr.'s mother-in-law...so it's Michael Brown Jr.'s step-grandmother. You should also know that Michael Brown, Jr. never actually lived with her...ever. At the time of his death, he was spending the summer with his ACTUAL Grandmother, Desuirea Harris. Before that he was temporarily staying with friends, and had indeed spent his Senior year of high school with his grandmother due to "schooling issues." Basically, his Mom moved out of the school district, and Michael decided to stay in it and therefore lived with his Grandmother. Continuing on...Pearlie, his step-Grandmother, did indeed try to make money from selling t-shirts that memorialized Michael, but never did anyone attack or beat her up for it, and never did Michael's mother say that she was "entitled" to the money. In fact, a crowd of 20-30 people rushed Pearlie's booth and Leslie basically told her to stop selling them, whereby which Pearlie refused. And that was it. End of story. And while the end of this meme might have a point about the need to strengthen families, I think it's unfair to point it specifically toward the black community as the solution to this specific problem when there are plenty of children born out of wedlock or who come from broken or divorced homes in white communities, myself included, that don't have this specific problem at all.
So Christians, (and you too, INTERNET!) my point is this: Do. Yo. Research. Just because there is a picture with words on it shared on Facebook doesn't mean that it's true.
For example, just because this is a picture of Thomas Jefferson with a quote that is on definitelyrealquotes.com does not mean that Thomas Jefferson actually said it. It is unfortunate that I even have to tell you this, because it should already be totally and completely obvious to you. There needs to be a source and that source needs to be credible. Yes, it will require some research, but it is your obligation as a Christ-follower to always seek the truth. Yes, that may mean you have to set your politics aside, and it may mean that your assumptions may not prove to be correct, but what is important is that what you are believing and what you are sharing and telling people is true is ACTUALLY TRUE. The world already thinks that Christians are stupid and gullible, and hypocritical and manipulative to boot, the least you could do is stop giving them credibility to that assumption. Please, for all of us. For Christ's sake...and I don't mean that as a curse word...FOR HIS SAKE, stop making Him look bad. You are an ambassador of Christ, so please, for the love of all that is holy, stop sharing false, hateful, racist, political propaganda and start sharing what is true and right and fair and just and every other thing that is GOOD. Be a trustworthy and honest person.
And here, I am even going to help you out here. Whenever you see something like these memes online, no matter how real it seems to be, go to www.snopes.com and search it. You'll have a result in under a minute and it will be up front with you. It'll say True or False, or Mostly True or Mostly False, and it will give you credible sources to back up its claim. And if you can't find what you are searching for on the website, you can simply submit what you are searching, and they'll research it for you. It's that easy. That's how I found out about the above three memes. You can read about them yourself here:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/mcspadden.asp
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/popeatheist.asp
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/hondswitz.asp
Because of websites like this, and because of how easy they make it for us, none of us have any excuse whatsoever to not take the time to research what we are reading and what we are sharing on social media. It will take two minutes, tops. You can spare two minutes before you press that share button. You know you can.
And before I end this post, let's have a quick review of what types of sources are and are not credible:
- Your crazy Aunt Janice who sends you constant FarmVille requests: NOT CREDIBLE
- Any "Facebook Suggestion" site that shows up in your newsfeed: NOT CREDIBLE (They just want your clicks and the money that comes from your clicking.)
- An intentionally fake, sarcastic or ironic news site such as The Onion, National Report, World News Report, The News Nerd, Empire News, Lark News, or Clickhole: NOT CREDIBLE (Note: I may or may not have been fooled by one of these websites multiple times...I'm talking to you, NATIONAL REPORT, with your official sounding name and lack of mentioning you are not real anywhere on your site. You're the worst!)
- Major national news networks such as FOX News, CNN, or MSNBC: MOSTLY CREDIBLE, but let's not forget that they are all incredibly biased and don't just lean to the left or right...they are the extreme left and right and often offer no middle ground. Just sayin'.
- News sites that have had a long credible history, in print and online, such as National Geographic, TIME, the New York Post, the Washington Times, or your local paper: PRETTY CREDIBLE, though again, they all have their biases.
- Any site where the writer would very likely lose their job should they be caught lying, not doing their research, or intentionally skewing their research: CREDIBLE.
- A scientific or historical journal that is peer reviewed and therefore requires each study or article be reviewed by a panel of professionals before being published: CREDIBLE
- Any site that does not have a "works cited" or links to credible or primary sources: NOT CREDIBLE
- Any article that does not list an author or a date: NOT CREDIBLE
- Government Websites: CREDIBLE. I know, it's hard to believe, but they do the research, they post the results, and they pretty much leave any political bias out of it. It's just cold, hard, facts...the way it should be.
- This post: THE MOST CREDIBLE OF ALL. Just kidding. But honestly, you should check the links for yourself and not take my word alone for it, because I am not a journalist. I do tend to spend insane amounts of time researching primary resources whenever a controversial news story breaks (because I'm a nerd), and I do have a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science (because I'm a nerd), and I have previously worked as a librarian (because I'm a nerd), though I do not currently (because I am apparently not nerdy enough to be a librarian in COLORADO), so that should all speak for itself, but I am not paid to research or write and I risk nothing other than my reputation when I make blog posts like this. So you really shouldn't believe every word I say all the time. You should research it for yourself and click on the links I've provided.
And that is the most important thing I could possibly teach you through this post: To question, to think for yourself, and to research both sides so that you can have an accurate and informed view. You have a brain, and with the right tools, you can use it, too! And when in doubt, just ask yourself, "What would the Credible Hulk do?" Because believe it or not, the Credible Hulk and Jesus actually have a lot in common.
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