Social Media - the fastest vehicle of MIS-information on the information highway

I don't know about you but I am getting totally fed up with all the false information that's being carried around on the back of social media outlets these days. Especially when the bulk of it is completely avoidable! *No Hungary didn't make a law requiring Jews to wear a yellow patch! **No Ben Stein didn't write some flowery monologue in response to a "holiday tree" comment made by the White House. ***And no the reason why your "baby-cut-carrots" go white is not anything to do with chlorine...that's just what happens when a peeled carrot starts to dry out...yeah I know it really blows your mind doesn't it!

I apologize if this is coming out like a Rick Mercer rant on CBC but really! The facts are out there folks if we would just take a couple seconds to check to see if what we are about to "share" is actually credible. If we aren't willing to do that then maybe we should consider whether or not we have any business passing it on to our unsuspecting family and friends via our favourite social media(which, for the Facebook hater, includes your mouth)....or being on the internet at all for that matter.

So the next time we complain about the "media" maybe we should think about the kinds of things that we are circulating to our viewers/listeners. Lets do our research folks so we can share the good stuff...if not, lets all just shut up.

"It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt"

-Unknown

* Jews wore gold stars in protest of Marton Gyongyosi's suggestion that Hungary compile a list of "people of Jewish ancestry who live here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who, indeed, pose a national security risk to Hungary" http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/11/29/call-for-jewish-list-raises-the-spectre-of-renewed-anti-semitism-in-hungary/
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/03/15640241-far-right-leaders-demand-for-list-of-jews-spurs-outrage-in-hungary?lite

There is absolutely NO law requiring Jews to wear any kind of identifying mark

** A fraction of the monologue is Stein the remainer seems like a cut and paste game which changes from year to year. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/confessions.asp http://www.ieyenews.com/2011/12/ben-stein%E2%80%99s-christmas-email-chain-letter/  http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ben_stein_christmas.htm
*** http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp