With the rise of Facebook and Twitter, we have all become media outlets. With the click of a mouse we can share news links with our family and friends. When we share a story, we are applying our personal stamp of approval. Sometimes, we are saying we think something is funny, or we agree with an opinion. Other times, we are being used to disseminate stories that have no basis in fact.
Consider Edgar Maddison Welch’s act on Dec. 4, 2016: After spending days reading about “Pizzagate,” Welch entered the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, D.C., and fired an AR-15 rifle into a door.
On June 14, 2017, James Hodgkinson shot U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others at a practice for a charity baseball game in Alexandria, Va. Hodgkinson had become convinced of the evils of the Republican Party. He was a member of various anti-Republican groups on Facebook, including one titled “Terminate the Republican Party.”
These are extreme cases, but they demonstrate the power we have at our fingertips. We read a headline or 280 characters and post to share with friends and family. Sources hope to get their stories and tweets “trending” with catchy headlines and topics. These groups can look like legitimate news sources and use real people to propagate false information.
In a world where perception can become reality, words matter. Please verify the news source and the author before stamping the approval of your media outlet.
R. Keresztury
Plum