Are you all too busy to take 10 seconds to type a query into Google or Snopes.com to check that something is true before hitting that share button?
If one more person tries to convince me that 3 lobed bell peppers are male and 4 lobed peppers are female I might just lose it. FRUIT DOES NOT HAVE GENDER!
I realize it is not the least bit important in the grand scheme of things. But it is still not true, so why share it as if it is? And really, do you need to get offended when called out on it?
"When I posted it, I didn't mean for people to get all bent out of shape and go and research this crap, I seen it in my news feed, thought it was cute and re-posted it, I didn't say it was info that was going to change the world. MY page is about humor NOT all about facts, but feel free to take your time and research anything I post, if you have nothing better to do. That's awesome, that means I got to someone! Have a blessed day."
Facts, schmacts. Pesky little things just get in the way. Hmmm, ignores facts, insults anyone that disagrees in order to make it seem as if they have done something wrong. Sounds like someone would be perfect for political office.
I have been guilty of sharing inaccurate things myself. Like when I shared this video and complimented the skills of this young woman:
When I was quickly called out on it as being a staged commercial, I gave a mea culpa and promised to be more careful. I didn't pout, or insult the person that told me it was fake. I admitted I was wrong and we all moved on with no mud flung.
While I am on a rant can I just whine about the people that insist on believing they can get incredible free stuff just for sharing the post and saying "this is so awesome check it out"? Little tip for you - no legit company is going to give away goods like this.
And then there is the endless variations of Facebook is violating your privacy rights (AGAIN!) but all you need to do to stop them is copy and paste this text while wearing a purple tutu and swinging a rubber chicken over your head and chanting "Owa tafoo li am" 10 times.
And then there are the paranoids that believe (and repost blindly) every ludicrous method that gangs or other baddies have supposedly come up with to trick women so they can be raped and murdered.
- lost children being used to lure women to a home so she can be raped.
- Burundanga laced business cards are used to incapcitate women.
- Unsuspecting motorists have their cars stolen when they get out to remove a flyer from the rear window.
- Thieves hide under cars and incapicitate people by slashing their ankles.
When I tried to calm down a FB friend by informing him one of these was false, his response was "I don't care, it is still good information." Nothing about it is true or accurate but it is good information. okaaaaaaaaaaaayyy. Same guy was also convinced the passage of a labor bill meant he could not assign chores to his kids, so...
I am not the only one annoyed by people not reading things carefully or using an ounce of critical thinking skills before sharing. I loved this scheme that Jamie and Kendall At I am Not The Babysitter cooked up using an infographic on Paid Parental Leave to demonstrate their point that people will blindly share anything and that the media needs to be honest and accurate and not post things just for ratings
I am sure many of the candidates for the Darwin Awards secretly hope I will die soon and stop checking up on their reposts because I did not believe their repost of a repost of a repost that cake mix past its expiration date will became toxic because the yeast turns into mold. Sorry, to disappoint them, I make most of my baked goods from scratch. 🙂
This post has been sponsored by Snoopes. They will give me 100 bucks for every person that reads this and clicks on the link. AND since I am in such a giving mood, I will split it with the first 10 people to click on the link. That's right just click on the link for 50 bucks! So help me out and take a minute to click on the link.
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Kianwi says
Ugh, my aunt does this all the time!! She used to forward emails like this, and I was always going to Snopes and I'd email her back saying it wasn't true. And she'd get pissy, too! I just don't understand the logic. I finally had to ask her to stop forwarding the emails to me. And then she found Facebook.
The ones that drive me the most crazy are the inaccurate political and legal ones. People just ignorantly share them, when, of all things, they should be educating themselves. So annoying.