Listen up. The internet is a wonderful thing. A wonderful, glorious thing. All the information in the world is available for your learning pleasure! However, with greatness like that, there has to be a downside.
The internet is also FULL of complete bunk. McDonald’s does NOT use worm meat as filler for their hamburgers. A 10-year-old ghost girl will NOT kill you in your sleep if you don’t repost her message 10+ times. No one is giving away free iPads, vacations to Disney, or million dollar shopping sprees if you share/like/follow a page.
If it seems too good (or fantastic) to be true, it probably is! Before you repost, retweet, or otherwise spread misinformation, think about it. Look at the website or page name – is it a reputable source? If they are making claims like “studies show” or “research has found”, do they cite their sources? And if they do happen to site their source – is it from a reputable scientific journal? I learned while working for a research company that there are journals out there that will print ANYTHING if you pay them the money.
Don’t spread misinformation. Do your research! Just remember – the internet is available to virtually anyone. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can build a website – and they can write whatever they please in it.
The power is within you to stop the internet lies! Or at least slow them down a little.
/rant