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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDid a Young Girl Hit Mike Pence in the Head with a Water Balloon? NO (fake news alert)
"All those who march, including me," the victim said, "do so at their peril and are fair game."https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pence-water-balloon/
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Sympthsical
(10,858 posts)Seeing a blatantly false headline, article, or tweet and seeing how far it goes because no one's actually reading the story or looking at a source. A lot of the time, it goes pretty far.
I don't think people actually read the news. I think they read what someone else heard about a story that they got from a summary that was last read by three other people up the chain.
At some point in my social media career, I went from being dismayed at this stuff to fascinated to wildly entertained. Now, I meet stupidly false shit that is obviously not true with pure glee.
I think I've reached my "just let it burn" phase of the program. There's no teaching people.
Celerity
(53,701 posts)the credibility of this board (if all were to adopt the 'just let it burn' stance).
To take it to a deeper level, there are (IMHO) multiple incorrect/faulty fundamental positings/dominant narratives/memes (far more important than a water balloon) that are taken as gospel truth (and pushed as such) by some, and that then, when those faculty positings are woven into additional narratives, poison and distort the debate on a multiplicity of subjects and their attendant discussions.
Sympthsical
(10,858 posts)Depending on the topic. Very few people - particularly on the internet - are willing to U-turn from narratives and collections of half-facts that have taken years to build up. Particularly when those beliefs become ingrained in their identity, how they see themselves as a person, what makes them good against all those evil others.
Look at Covid theory. No matter what has come out about it - and it's a lot - the only time I see anything is some random one-sided opinion article reinforcing the narrative instead of the mountain of contradictory articles and facts that have come to light over time.
There's just zero interest in learning differently. The cake was baked ages ago, and no rearranging of the crumbs after the fact will bake a new one.
And we're assuming facts are in consideration at all instead of pure top-down tribal directive.
Maybe it's a part of getting older, but I see social media more and more as an exercise in thought triage. Sometimes you just have to start figuring out where to slap the black tags so you can focus resources on the red ones. I just read a lengthy article about drag, started tapping out the first sentences in what would have been a long response explaining why it's not great from a gay male perspective, and then realized, "There is zero point in explaining any of this."
It'd be like doing Hamilton karaoke in front of my cats and expecting applause at the end.
Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)The earth is on the verge of being destroyed in an alien invasion, and every time he brings up his alien abduction story, everyone dismisses him as a nut.
That theme in the movie is farking hilarious.
Just after the minute mark:
Sympthsical
(10,858 posts)I do wish we (collective we) were more interested in knowing what are true things instead of narratively useful things. Just being able to level about everything, even if it bends ideology to do so. The world would be better off.
Most days online, depending on the space, it feels like inadvertently stumbling into church. "Fuck, I don't have a hymnal and now they're saying the creed. Should I just leave? Should I steal from the collection basket? Who keeps bringing forty five crying babies?"
World needs a Buddy Christ.
DU is the one place to find real news. It saddens me to see fake stories here and that so many tolerate it.
Brenda
(1,936 posts)
Martin Eden
(15,366 posts)I don't like being deceived.
I expect it from the right. Coming from ostensible allies is much worse. Credibility is too precious an asset to destroy for "guilty joys."
Sympthsical
(10,858 posts)I’m talking about as an observer.
My posting history is pretty riddled with trying to correct bad information. But sometimes, you just have to sit back and watch the car crash.
Martin Eden
(15,366 posts)That's good to know, but there is more to watching a **preventable** car crash than guilty joys.
Yes, the deleterious effects of this kind of car crash continue long after the initial posting. Such things are readily believed and shared, and thusly propagated.
When discovered to be false, the credibility of the person who shared it and the source (DU) from whence they got it are damaged.
In other words, when you know something is false the responsible thing to do is what the OP in this thread did -- alert our community about the falsehood.
yardwork
(68,981 posts)In thread after thread where many posters have not bothered to read the article or think critically about the details, Sympthsical will ask questions and point out discrepancies.
But there's a lot of misinformation, even here on DU. It's exhausting to address it all. More of us need to show more discernment.
Martin Eden
(15,366 posts)I may have been a bit harsh, but I try to keep within the realm of facts and ideas.
I think we can agree that falsehoods, regardless of how trivial (Pence falsely identified as man hit in head with balloon) should be discouraged.
However, I can also understand not spending one's time in a mostly futile effort to stem the tide of bullshit.
yardwork
(68,981 posts)Pointing out that an OP or post has errors of fact, or logical fallacies, is not always met with gratitude, believe it or not. People become quite annoyed on occasion.
No wonder a lot of things go unchallenged.
Sympthsical
(10,858 posts)I really appreciate that. It was very nice of you to say.
yardwork
(68,981 posts)
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)ItsjustMe
(11,971 posts)
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(12,880 posts)yardwork
(68,981 posts)True Dough
(25,848 posts)that young girl a talking to. And all of her friends and classmates for that matter.
I will hold up a picture of the real Mike Pence and say, "You see this man here? Trust me, he's bad. If you ever get the opportunity, you pelt him with water balloons. Throw them as hard as you can! Thanks, kids."
Celerity
(53,701 posts)such as walking in a parade with a known tradition of water balloon tossing on the marchers) she would face serious criminal charges, more than likely. I fact, I do not think that true, legally binding consent would be given by Pence through his marching in the parade. Of that I do not know as I am not a lawyer.
True Dough
(25,848 posts)is she would be sentenced to home confinement, so essentially "grounded." That's definitely worth it!!!
brewens
(15,359 posts)
Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)The idea of hitting a water balloon with another water balloon was obviously nonsensical.
ms liberty
(10,977 posts)
Bucky
(55,334 posts)As you should know, Mike pence's hair is made of a space-age polymer that is highly resistant to water, wind, fire, or science
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)Doesn’t matter if it’s Pence or not. Unless you agree to it, nobody has the right to hit you with a water balloon, an egg, a pie or anything else. And teaching a kid that it’s okay to assault a public figure you don’t agree with is very bad parenting.
yardwork
(68,981 posts)
obamanut2012
(29,177 posts)The water balloons are part of it.
JHB
(37,956 posts)
demmiblue
(39,253 posts)
WarGamer
(18,256 posts)I count 6-7 straight up false OP's
Maybe Admin would like to change ToS to add "Fake Crap" as a hide-able offense?