Don't believe everything you read.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:

What are some truths you think everyone knows, but chooses to ignore?

That you shouldn't believe everything that you read on the Internet, and that you should always double and triple check the sources before sharing something you found online, and when in doubt just don't share it at all until there's actual confirmation.

And while I don't know if people consciously choose to ignore it, I do think that, thanks to the fast-paced nature of social media, it has made people want quick information rather than doing the research for themselves so they'll believe anything that immediately pops up on their feed and share it with others. Sometimes without even reading the links provided, because if the people they follow are linking it well, then it must be reliable and true, right? This is how misinformation gets spread, unfortunately, whether purposefully or not. We've all accidentally made this mistake, I've made it several times myself over the years, it happens. But I think we should try to make it a habit of not believing everything we see online without credible sources, or treat everything we see as mere rumors until proven otherwise.

Comments

[giallarhorn.livejournal.com]

I think it's just harder now, because the amount of digging you have to do sometimes- like a small offhand remark becomes a rumor, and then all it takes is someone semi-reputable or with a big enough following to report on it, and viola. Telephone magnified by several billion times.

Doesn't help when you have deliberate acts of misinformation injected into the noise, now.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's kind of incredible how easily it is to spread misinformation nowadays, it doesn't take much. Someone makes a vague statement on Twitter or any other social media and people will rally with speculations and then before you know it, online articles are writing up pieces to be "the first" in reporting on something. And that's all it has become, to be honest, and that's just sad.

While it can be harder to dig up certain things, I do think people should be more wary or cautious when seeing something they've read online.