Protect yourself with the search engine of your choice
We have over a month to go before the national election. If you react to posts on the internet before checking them, it will be a long five weeks, indeed.
In August, I provided sites to do fact-checking. The first step is the easiest: Google whatever you are seeing. I say “Google” as shorthand. I don’t endorse one search engine over any others.
When you google something:
- If it is not showing up on Google, it either happened three seconds ago or it is bunk.
- If it is showing up on Google, double check the date.
- If it is real, and it is awful, read a substantial part of the link. Go to the most neutral source among the sites reporting on it. Save a neutral one, to use if you are going to post a retraction.
Breaking my own rules, but success:
I recommend that you do not comment on false information and negative propaganda on the post that shows the misinformation. It increases the chances of the post getting extra attention. The best thing to do, if you are willing to put your opinions out there, is to write your own post with the real information. Allude to the falsehood, but don’t repeat it.
However, I just had to take the bait about a month ago. My sister-in-law–I have a Trumpy sister-in-law–posted the misinformation about how the Harris tax plan would be taxing unearned capital gain and how that would make someone lose their house. It started with “My mother bought her house for $50,000 and now it is worth $500,000…”, then went on with fictional math and fictional bad guy: “This means she will owe $112,000 in taxes, if the Harris tax plan goes into effect…Some company will buy the house to cover the debt, then rent it back to my mother…I know how I AM voting!”
I held my breath. Said a little prayer, then factually corrected the huge whopper of propaganda. The tax plan is on unrealized capital gains on stocks, not residences. It only affects people with a net worth over $100M. A friend backed me up with her comment.
Then, an interesting thing happened.
I not only did not get hate mail from my SIL or brother. About a day later, Meta backed me up. They took down the post as false information. The post was greyed out, but the comments remained. My comments. That was a win.
The fact-check info had the same information that I posted, and a little more. My SIL didn’t take down the post. Well, that’s on her.
Not breaking the rules:
Twice on the same day in the last week of September, I ran into people who were whipping up outrage on left-leaning groups. Both bits of outrage were wastes of time and emotional energy.
One turned out to be something that happened in July, and was already all-but-forgotten. But outrage spilled all over the comments section. Please let sleeping dogs lie.
The second was a problem that was already solved: There was a glitch in the balloting system in Montana. It was solved the day it happened. No voters were affected. The post about the problem drew ire from readers on the Facebook group four days later: “Where is the DNC?” ““Why is there no news about this?” “Kennedy is on, but Harris is OFF!” “They are stealing the state!!”
By the time I got back to the page with the link, the post was removed by the poster. My Googling saved me from anxiety about ballot tampering. Meanwhile the poster became privy to a link that showed that this problem was solved.
I don’t often quote my step-mother, but today, I do:
Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist