It’s easier than ever to fact check and nobody does it.
I saw two separate stories reposted on facebook this week that deeply disturbed me. Not because the content of the stories were particularly unnerving, but because they both lacked a certain something: any factual accuracy whatsoever.
The first was a supposed piece written by Ben Stein where addresses the so-called “war on Christmas” that conservative Christians love to get their panties in a twist over. He spoke as a Jew addressing the fact that he can still enjoy and appreciate Christmas and even endorse being wished a “Merry Christmas” despite the fact that he doesn’t share the beliefs from which Christmas stems. Fair enough, right? Well, then the article goes on (while still claiming it’s Stein’s words) to say that since school prayer is a thing of the past, God has forsaken the nation. And that since “we” have rejected God (despite the majority of the nation claiming Christian belief), he has “bowed out” and allowed school shootings and terrorist attacks to befall this nation of ours. How do we correct this? Apparently, by spanking our children (as Jesus taught, of course). The article states that since Dr. Benjamin Spock advocated against the idea of spanking children, his son later killed himself as a result. …Because he wasn’t spanked. I’m not kidding. It actually says this. Not only that… HIS SON NEVER KILLED HIMSELF!
The second I saw is a graphic of a white, well-dressed Christian couple handing a Bible to a woman from Haiti. The caption beneath it reads: “Thank you, this looks delicious” insisting that the couple is there to simply drop off Bibles, take a picture to feel good and leave them in their squalor. Anybody who is familiar with Christian mission trips knows this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Mission trips, while often having an evangelizing bent, typically involve very practical help such as building shelters, building wells, supplying food and water or setting up sponsorships for families.
You’d think that both of these pieces would be quickly squashed out. For instance, if you google “fact check ben stein christmas article,” the two top stories swiftly debunk the article as false and, except for the first four paragraphs, not written by Stein. For me, it popped up in .30 seconds. Not even ONE second and I had the article fact-checked, yet this article has been circulating for TEN YEARS. Ten years of a propagated lie of an article as opposed to less than one second of a fact check.
The problem is that people see something they agree with and they want it to be true since it speaks to their personal sentiment. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to believe something unless I’ve done the proper research. And if something I believe turns out to not be true, I’d like to know about it! The internet is a wonderful tool that is not being utilized for what it should be. We can be given a free crash-course on any historical period by typing a few words into our smart phones. We should all be educated master minds and yet ignorance is as as widespread as ever. Do yourself a favor— Take nothing at face value. Research it first.
