Stop Spreading Hoaxes & Outdated Info on Facebook

[Monique]

I am so annoyed with Facebook users who sharing information that is either a hoax (strawberry quick) or outdated information (missing people, abused animals). Why don't they check the source if they are so concerned? The hoax has long been revealed, the missing people were found months ago, the animal abuser has already been sentenced.

I'm thinking about starting a counter movement, to make people aware to check the source before sharing. I've never seen one pass by, does one already exist?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The internet is both the great deliverer of information and the deceiver of information. This makes critical thinking an ever more important skill to have.

 

[Monique]

I just can't believe my friends are so stupid. Some have made it their life goal to share all that junk.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I just can't believe my friends are so stupid. Some have made it their life goal to share all that junk.

I use the hide feature often!

 

[Monique]

Yes, hide/ignore/report. I rather educate though, can't set parents 'in law' on ignore

 

[Evo]

My best friend used to forward a lot of garbage to me. She was a very sweet person and I traveled a lot, so any time she got an e-mail with something that might endanger me (like people waking up in tubs of ice at a hotel and their kidneys removed), she'd get very worried and forward the e-mail to me. Even people at work would forward such e-mails. Now Facebook is just another way of spreading nonsense, which is another reason I don't use it as a personal account.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I was having a related conversation yesterday and pointed out that people not fact checking and obsessively passing on information is not new, the Internet just makes it more convenient. Of course this is normally countered by pointing out that if you can use the Internet to distribute information you can use it to check it the majority of people wouldn't have the first clue on where to begin other than typing into google and seeing what happens. That's why sites like yahoo ask are so popular even though most of it is unchecked junk.

In my education I don't remember having to do any modules on how to evaluate sources and fact check using the Internet until I got to university. Other than some semi-related lessons on different types of sources in history and IT classes it was pretty much left for students to learn themselves. IMO these type of critical thinking and self-learning skills should be taught at a much younger age and continue throughout education.

 

[Borg]

I was having a related conversation yesterday and pointed out that people not fact checking and obsessively passing on information is not new, the Internet just makes it more convenient. Of course this is normally countered by pointing out that if you can use the Internet to distribute information you can use it to check it the majority of people wouldn't have the first clue on where to begin other than typing into google and seeing what happens. That's why sites like yahoo ask are so popular even though most of it is unchecked junk.

Even a simple Google search would work if people would use it. I pity anyone who uses Yahoo Answers for their information source because there's so much bad information there. Plus, you have people like me who build their point totals by randomly voting for best answers.

 

[krash661]

I just can't believe my friends are so stupid. Some have made it their life goal to share all that junk.

lol,
some mentalities. lol

 

[krash661]

I rather educate though,

it's a waste of effort and time.for me anyways,
i always try and end up getting the same ole' low level minded crap, or they become offended for some weird reason,
so i do not bother anymore.

 

[bp_psy]

I sometimes think that the people that forward those things are actually tooling us. They know that there are people that get into a monitor punching rage whenever they get a message asking money to give to google to give to charity for some little girl operation. I always had a pretty good opinion about humans so I can't believe that is just ignorant stupidity

 

[Monique]

Even a simple Google search would work if people would use it.

Or even just clicking on the message that is being shared.

it's a waste of effort and time.for me anyways,
i always try and end up getting the same ole' low level minded crap,
so i do not bother anymore.

I agree, and I don't want to be the annoying person that always discredits the "good samaritan" efforts. But if someone demands to "Share!" a message that is 4 months old and long-resolved, my toes do curl.

 

[krash661]

my toes do curl.

lol i understand,
because of things like this,
i have been trying to work on my ignore function, but sometimes it's difficult.

 

[AlephZero]

The basic purpose of a social network site is to make money from advertising, not to provide its members with electronic communication tools and/or a social life.

Trying to change that, one networker at a time, is doomed to fail.

 

[russ_watters]

I just can't believe my friends are so stupid.

Makes me sad. I have to restrain myself from responding a lot.

 

[russ_watters]

The basic purpose of a social network site is to make money from advertising, not to provide its members with electronic communication tools and/or a social life.

Trying to change that, one networker at a time, is doomed to fail.

Yes: I challenge anyone to find a relevant difference between the business models of Candy Crush and heroin.

 

[Office_Shredder]

A lot of these chain letters are actually business that sell facebook pages to companies. They put up a page where they say something like "we will pick one random person who likes this page to win a new car!" or "if 10000 people like this we can save Fluffy from leukemia!" and then they turn around and sell that page to a company for a couple pennies a like, at which point that company posts whatever they want (I imagine many of the people who buy these pages aren't legitimate companies either but running their own scam)

 

[lisab]

I often wonder if the people sending them are really doing it. I mean, did they get hacked? Is FB allowing companies to *think* your otherwise brilliant cousin wants you to try a particular dish soap?

Btw: if any of my FB friends here get anything from me that looks like a pitch for dish soap, please know I've been hacked.