This week the world lost an actor that touched millions of peoples lives, through his comedic style and his acting chops. The first 20+ posts I saw on my Facebook page that morning were of people sharing news articles, photos of Robin or personal stories about how he affected their lives.
But one status I saw had comments on it saying “This is a hoax.” At least three people didn’t believe it was true until someone pointed out how many reputable news outlets were reporting it. Someone said, “In this case, I think the hoax is the hoax.” A few days later, a friend (who clearly isn’t a fan of John Mayer) on my page posted this:
It’s so easy to cause chaos on the internet with fake stories. So how do we distinguish between fact and fiction online? Just because a mass amount of people are saying or sharing something doesn’t mean we should believe it’s true, especially as future media and journalism professionals. If we’re reporting the news or creating media content for an outlet or a documentary, it’s up to us to make sure we get the facts right. Earlier this year there was a story circulating that the US was going to raise the drinking age to 25 years old. I remember because all of my friends back in Atlanta were going crazy (I mean we already have to wait until we’re 21, come on!). Turns out, the story originated from a website where people can create fake news stories to trick their friends. Big thanks to whoever decided to create that page! The point is, just because it’s getting a lot of circulation doesn’t mean you don’t have to check the source. What tipped me off about the fake news story was that ABC news doesn’t usually spell things wrong or use the wrong form of ‘their, there, they’re’. A quick Google search brought up news stories reporting the hoax. It’s not always so easy to find out if something is true, but you can find ways. Checking the AP is one. Finding sources you can trust is another. We have to find ways to make sure we know the truth, or we can’t do our jobs in good faith.
