Fake news has been around forever. From the yellow journalism of the 1800's to the supermarket tabloids of the 1950's, there has never been a shortage of absolute, complete and total bullshit out there that will be bought by gullible people. There is no iron clad proof that PT Barnum said "There is a sucker born every minute." (ironically, that quote might be as fake as the fake news problem) but that saying is totally accurate. The blunt truth is that we've all been duped before-we want to believe that the other side politically is evil so we're likely to post stories about how negative they are. We believe "facts" about bees dying out and about vaccines giving us autism. We believe what we choose to believe and look for facts that back it up-no matter if you are atheist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim...you get my picture.
As people know, I am huge believer in technology. I love social media, the internet, Uber, GMO's, smartphones. I think people who are afraid of these things can't accept change and are fighting a losing battle. Living in the past is something I just don't understand, never will. However my beloved internet is surely to blame for the rise of fake news. For whatever else the internet is, it brings voice to people who pre 1999 didn't have an easy way to express their views. This is obviously not changing, and it has it's drawbacks. Thirty years ago if you wanted whack job conspiracies you had to turn to John Birch newsletters and Art Bell. Now, you can get it from the comfort of your living room.
Snopes.com is a Godsend today. We are often much too lazy to cross check anything we post. After all, we want it to be true. A good rule of thumb that no one remembers-if it sounds too good to be true, it ain't true.
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