Think Before You Share

By Scott Huler

A friend on Facebook uncritically shared a piece of crazy the other day. I know, your friends do, too. But here’s the thing: This friend is a normal. He’s not one of those once-rational legacy friends from high school you would never befriend today who litter your feed with nonsense. He knows that the Earth orbits the sun, that evolution provides the best explanation for the diversity of life, that our planet is warming up. He has spiritual, political, and artistic views, but he doesn’t think any of them take the place of factual reality. He’s a photojournalist and a fine one, a fine citizen, and a fine man.

And on Facebook he shared a mind-alteringly unmoored conspiracy video about the Sept. 11 attacks, adding: “Not saying yes or no … but this is interesting!”

It was not interesting. What he shared was this video, from a conservative, crazy website called TellMeNow.com, titled, “VIDEO PROOF Showing No Planes Hit The WTC On 9/11.”

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