Friends, Fact Checks, and the Three Strikes Rule

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

For the most part, I like Facebook. It allows me to keep in touch with people that I don't see very often, and share events from my own life with those I care about. For me, this is the purpose of Facebook.

But that's not everyone's purpose.

Many people in my feed these days are (still) constantly posting political content. I'm okay with that for the most part - people should use Facebook in whatever manner they choose, and I'm not the boss of anyone but me and Miss Jackson Pi. If I find it tedious, I can always hide their source material or if it gets too bad, I can hide their feeds entirely or shunt them out the airlock.

But what makes me grind my teeth is when they share something that is not well-sourced. People share fake news, they share unsubstantiated news, they share crap from citizen "journalists" who really have no idea whatsoever how to research original sources, discern truth from fiction, or even entertain that the facts might be in conflict with their emotionally held beliefs. They share propaganda from organizations who have an axe to grind and so don't care what kind of unsubstantiated bullshit they put out there as long as it gets the emotional reaction they desire. UGH. No, really - UGH.

Because I'm a liberal, I tend to see this nonsense more often from liberals than conservatives in my feed. I rarely see White Nationalist bullshit, because that sort of tripe will get you a trip out the airlock with no possibility of reprieve, but there's still plenty of right-leaning crap that gets shared without any discernment whatsoever. This keeps the left-leaning crap company.

IT'S EVERYWHERE, AND I'M SICK OF IT.

Why is it so very hard to apply basic research skills before you share this stuff? Here's a handy guide:


This is not that hard. No, really, it's not. If you want to double check the accuracy of a report, simply Google the gist of it. Sites will come up who are carrying that "news." If they're reputable (WashPo, WSJ, The Econonist, NPR, ProPublica), then cite the reputable news source and not the third bullshitter from the left. They likely have more detail than the bullshitter.

If the only hits you get are from outlets who clearly value emotional baiting above journalism (WND, Bipartisan Report, etc.) then perhaps the story isn't actually, you know, true, and you should probably do additional research to determine what the facts are.

There are people in this world who make their living doing this work. They're called "journalists," and the best ones are employed by organizations who maintain tried and true standards by which they judge their content - before they put it out into the world. Do they occasionally make mistakes? Of course they do. And when they do, they pay for it with their credibility and their trust. But please do not try to convince me that there are "no" news sources that are worthy of trust, or that "there is no research or reading you can do to know the truth."* 

Spare me such drivel, and do everyone a favor and check and cite your sources before you spread your partisan brand of bullshit into the world. 

In fact, I'm considering a "three strikes and you're out" rule. Spread easily discernible falsehoods on Facebook more than twice, and you get the airlock. Liberal or conservative doesn't matter - but your mental laziness does.

________
*A direct, no shit quote from a "just give him a chance" Trump supporter. My initial response was to think, "Well, there may not be research or reading that YOU can do, but I went to college and have basic research and analytic skills." I did not, however - it was on an acquaintance's wall, and I have better things to do than antagonize perfect strangers.

2 comments:

Random Michelle K said...

"there is no research or reading you can do to know the truth."

(blink) (blink)

I just... I mean... science... empirical research and testing...

DAMNIT! THAT STATEMENT MADE ME TURN ALL ELLIPSE-Y.

DAMN YOU FOOL, WHOMEVER YOU ARE.

Janiece said...

To be fair, he wasn't talking about science but about politics. But still - It's not like the truth is UNKNOWABLE or something. Or investigative journalists would be out of job.