People who share incorrect/inflammatory posts on FB

[Beckpatton]

without even checking the info first..

More and more often my feed is filling with pics and posts about all sorts of issues that are just blatant lies/hoaxes trying to rile up hate and anger.. For example:

-anti Muslim propaganda (eg: Muslim schools want to ban the national anthem, Muslims want to make all our food halal, like when Vegemite was declared halal, there was a huge outcry about how Un-Australian it is, never mind the fact that Vegemite hasn't been owned by an Aussie company in years, and the actual product itself wasn't changed at all, it just got certified halal as a marketing ploy. )

-anti Boat people (there's a photo circulating from an email of a supposed government document showing how our senior pensioners get $200 a week less than those on Illegal Immigrant/Asylum seeker benefits- not even remotely true! For one, there's no such thing as an Illegal Immigrant/Asylum seeker benefit, the idea is ludicrous)

- Hoax warnings about product recalls, attempted kidnappings, missing kids..

- share or like this pic to stop child abuse

- share or like this post to stop hackers from taking over your profiles

All of this crap just getting shared without any thought except "Erhma GOD! It must be true cos I read it on Facey so I must share and warn everybody!!!!"

I am getting a rep among my friends as the "mythbuster" as they share these things and I debunk them.. It's mostly friendly with a few, but I have lost a few acquaintances over it (not that I care).. But lately it's getting so bad I am hitting my limit!

Don't be a fricken sheep! Think for yourself, educate yourself, and take 5 mins out of your time to do a bloody google search! These hoaxes are just so easy to spot, either the claims are just so ridiculous they can't be true, or they are too vague and lacking in detail to be true.

Most times when I tell my friends that their post is a fake, I get "Well I didn't know I just shared it just in case!" reply. That annoys me to no end. I don't know what the people who start these posts get out of them, but I will be damned if I'm gonna help them get their jollies and spread their crap all over the internet..

Today's example.. The Bill Cosby "I'm 83 and tired" speech.. For starters, Bill Cosby is only 75! LOL!! When I posted on the link a person I know shared today, (someone had already called her on it, saying they didn't think Cosby said it, she replied that to her it sounded exactly like Cosby, both argued back and forth for a while) I pointed out his age, supplied a link to Bill Cosby's personal webpage denying it, and another link to the Snopes page that provides all the info on this story, and she went dead silent. This was all info I found in less than 2 minutes on the net.

Another one I get every Australia Day is this

"I DON'T CARE IF I DO OFFEND ANYONE BY THIS!!!

I PLEDGE ALLIANCE TO THE FLAG OF AUSTRALIA AND TO THE COMMONWEALTH FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS, INDIVISIBLE, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I GREW UP RECITING THE AUSTRALIA ANTHEM EVERY MORNING IN SCHOOL WITH MY HAND ON MY HEART. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE!

LET'S SEE HOW MANY AUSSIES WILL RE-POST THIS AND NOT CARE ABOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE"

When I point out the irony that this Pro Australia post is a rip off of the American Pledge of allegiance, they don't even get it! Never mind the fact that it is also untrue.


Sorry for the long post folks, but it's been driving me batty!!

TL;DR- Use your brain people! Think for yourself!

[bara]

I agree with you completely.

I especially hate the 'share' if you agree posts someone stating you arent a 'real' american if you dont. Im certainly as real as any, I have an honorable discharge and a year in Iraq to prove it.

I do not believe children should be forced to recite the pledge of allegiance. Nor do I feel they should be stopped from doing so. I do not believe that prayer should be forced in school, but I do not feel they should be stopped so long as it does not interfere with studies. I am not opposed to them teaching creationism as a religious viewpoint, but only as much credence as would be given to greek mythology as a study of history and religions.

[Nekojin]

Yeah, the Cosby one is out in full force. I got one paragraph in, said, "That doesn't sound like Cosby," and hit Snopes. Posted the correction to FB, and got the entirely expected response: "Well, I don't care if Cosby didn't say it, I still agree with it!"

[guywithashovel]

I've got a few on my list who like to do this, too. It's even worse when they post ones that have been debunked for quite a while.

Two people on my list like to keep sharing that tired old urban legend about the Pepsi can. If you are lucky enough to have not heard it, it goes something like "Pepsi is putting out a new can with the Pledge of Allegiance on it. They left out the "Under God" part. They said they didn't want to offend anyone. Well, they shouldn't be offended when we don't buy their product. After all, the MONEY HAS GOD ON IT! REPOST IF YOU AGREE!" Long story short, Pepsi never put out such a can, and they have no plans of doing so. However, even if they did make such a can, so what? They would be posting the Pledge the way it was originally written.

Every Christmas, the same few people like to post that hoax about Obama renaming the White House Christmas Tree a "holiday tree." That, too, is false, and has been debunked almost every year he's been president.

Let's see. What else have I seen on Facebook?

Oh yeah, there's that picture of Obama holding some book that is allegedly anti-American. Once again, it's wrong.

A few people also like to post the Pledge of Allegiance and claim that they recited it every year they were in school and they don't care if it offends anyone.

[ExRetailDrone]

Ugh, this drives me absolutely batty! Not long ago, one of my FB friends posted something about wanting her friends to protect her privacy by scrolling over her name and deselecting the options to show her likes and comments. I'm not explaining it well, sorry, it's 3am here :P Anyway, I posted a link to Snopes saying that it doesn't work that way and has more to do with other people's privacy settings and whatnot... yet even after I posted that, another of her friends commented saying that she had done so and hoped that it worked It's like smashing my face into a brick wall, I swear.

[Andara Bledin]

Ah, yes. The "This confirms my bias, so I don't care that it's based on lies, I'm going to keep sharing it," people.

I've removed people from my list over this sort of bullshit.

After posting replies that they're being irresponsible by sharing crap.

^-.-^

[crashhelmet]

I thought about removing them. Instead i just call them out on their ignorance and provide the facts of it all.

Sadly, some of them are family.

[violiav]

Same here.I'm just ignoring it now. I'm in the heart of batshit hyperbole country, so not much I can do. Sometimes I post a snopes article and move on.

[anakhouri]

Luckily I only know two people who do things like this, both of them with directly opposite political views from my own. I just scroll past; can't argue with people who refuse to listen or learn, after all.

(lately my favorite is a picture they posted of the president holding a book called The Post-American World, which they classify as a book predicting the fall of AMERICA that was written by a MUSLIM -gasp!. I'm pretty sure Fareed Zakaria, multiple-award winning journalist and editor, might protest at this most simplistic description of himself and his book.)

[AmbrosiaWriter]

What I get really annoyed about is when you post factual information with just an added "Pretty interesting information" and people blow a gasket without reading what you posted.

It's even better when they rant and bring up an example that has been debunked in the very article that has been posted.

*gwar*

[Beckpatton]

Oh I am SO glad it's not just me! Sometimes I think "Am I just being a bitch?" but then I say "Screw it, they need to be told!"

[guywithashovel]

Just today, someone on my list shared the Bill Cosby one. I replied with the snopes article. A few weeks ago, this person also shared the Obama book picture, and I did the same to it.

[fireheart17]

The first two piqued my interest:

-In order for something to be declared halal, it needs to have been certified as such by the Islamic Food council or something along those lines (there is an actual organisation for this I forget the name). It doesn't change the taste or texture of the food and for those people who ARE screaming over it, I hope they don't eat meat pies anymore (Vilis is one example off the top of my head) since a few companies now use halal meat. (some franchises of fast-food chains do the same, off the top of my head, there are a couple of McDonalds and an Oportos in New South wales that are halal)
The rest of the comments are absolutely ludicrous and are more likely made by one crazy ass imam who wants to get attention.

-As far as the "asylum seekers" argument goes, they DO get paid some benefit but it's a temporary one, they are still expected to follow the same requirements as those who came to Australia legally or were born here. (so they are required to go and look for work)

[Nyoibo]

The only difference between halal and non-halal meat is that for halal the animals have been blessed.

[Bloodsoul]

The only "anti-Boat" message I've ever heard was with regards to role-playing games and sea monsters…