Believe nothing you read and half of what you hear
With the seemingly endless barrage of “fake news” from every conceivable direction, it’s important to be able to discern the truth from the lies. I’ve heard this phrase a lot, especially growing up. No one wants to be taken for a fool, so it’s important you pay attention and take everything with a grain of salt. If you read something, read it again, and before you commit to memory as a fact, read it somewhere else. The difference between a Facebook post and propaganda is nothing, anymore. No matter what the story is, you’ll hear a different spin from any given news source. It’s hard enough to tell what the truth is. With so many tragedies and grabs for attention, any story you hear will have some kind of bias. What makes it sad are the simple stories, the disasters and accidents that happen with little to no human influence given a divisive and political flavor.
What purpose does it serve to infect something inherently neutral with the bitter poison of dishonesty? I think it’s important that we as people learn to be self-sufficient in our understanding of what we absorb. The rate at which anyone can accumulate knowledge is incredible, it’s just a Google search away. All that to say, there’s no telling what of that is correct or yet to be skewed by some kind of political deviation.
Internet rumors are easy enough to start but twice as easy to hear. I’m sure almost everyone has played the phone game when they were growing up. The first person in line would be told a story, and they would pass it to the next person, no doubt adding their own little spin on it. However, then you did it for fun. Now, when someone in the office overhears something they have no real business repeating, is it still fun to add a spin to it? Word travels fast, in small towns or big towns, because the internet and social media becomes a weapon of unparalleled destruction. If compromising information hits SnapChat or Instagram, God help you. We as people are far too keen to believe the negativity and bile that people come up with, even with no credibility. So, take the high road, believe nothing that you read, and only half of what you hear. Before you make up your mind, check your facts and ask around, because nothing is quite so powerful as knowledge.
