Column: Ham and Fake News

After a decade of showing absolutely zero interest in social media, my mom recently took baby steps and created a Facebook account. While I’m sure this is not the gateway social media step into Instagram or Snap Chat, she is able to get some joy out of it by keeping up with friends and family.

On one occasion she shared a picture of a dog that had been going viral on the Internet. There was a message with the picture encourage people to share the picture because it would help raise money for a dog that was badly burned after helping save his humans from a fire. When I first read this I felt really bad for the dog, and from a distance the picture looked grotesque. I then took a closer look at the picture and realized the dog was not badly burned; he just had a slice of cheap sliced ham on his face. After doing a little digging, the original person who posted the picture wanted to see just how many shares he could get by making up a bogus story. Turns out there were 1.3 million shares, many of which probably didn’t take the time to realize this so-called brave dog was just a normal pet posing for a picture with deli meat on his face. I teased my mom over and over, but this also serves as a great learning point for society. Do not believe everything you read on the Internet.

This is a day and age of “Fake news” and it is getting really old. People will believe things just because they see them on the Internet and it is a sad state of affairs. I’m not talking about the dog with ham; I’m talking about stories about politics and major news events.

Nobody seems to bother to check to see who is posting these things. Somebody can just make up a political story and it starts to go viral. Sometimes people will read a story and despite being told that it is not true, they will continue to believe this. This is garbage.

Another huge problem is also that when someone does not agree with a story, certain politicians automatically believe it is a fake story. Politicians can become like kids at recess that start calling other kids names when their friends ditch them for the new kid at school. I wish the people representing us would spend a little less time worrying about what is in the news, a little less time on Twitter, far less time with stupid campaign attack ads, and more time helping this wonderful state and country. Fake news isn’t a legit story and it’s sad people believe this.

The Internet is a real boon to society when it comes to helping people, especially when somebody goes missing. At the same time, there isn’t a day I get online and don’t see someone share the link for missing people and not take the time to investigate what they are posting. Earlier today I read a story about two missing kids and it was sad to read. Turned out it was three years old and the kids were in England. I’m all about helping kids, but if you are sharing about missing kids in England in Montana, you are just wasting your time. Also, the kids in question had been found safe and sound a long time ago. There is nothing wrong with being helpful, but taking a closer look at things will help everyone in the long run.

And what on earth is with all the chain mail. Long before the Internet, chain mail was annoying the masses. Now it is worse. It always stops at my inbox and I never feel bad about it.

Other than the confusion with the dog and the processed pork, my mom has done pretty good with what she has shared. She learned her lesson.

I really wish other people would too.