At the start of this year, my husband began unfriending people on Facebook for posting/sharing "I Hate so-and-so" statuses or memes. He gave very little warning and I thought that was unfair. But today, I have decided to do something similar except that I am giving one week's notice.
My unfriending will be of people who blindly post shocking "facts" without first checking their validity. Here is the propaganda being spread as fact that sparked this housecleaning.
What are some past offenses that would now have you dropped from my list of friends? Just by way of example:
The waitress who was stiffed for being a lesbian. Not true, yet that one spread like wildfire. The retraction was not nearly as widespread as the lie. If you want to find it, read down to the 7th paragraph.
ANYTHING about a major change on Facebook. If it didn't come to you in an email or wasn't posted by the appropriate administrative section of Facebook, question it.
We are all, supposedly, intelligent human beings with the power of discernment. If not, then we know you at least have the internet and the ability to cut and paste. So cut and paste that frighteningly shocking revelation into Snopes or Google and do some research.
Believe it or not, tone is apparent. All capital letters, exclamation points, winking emoticons all get the mood across. I don't need a crystal ball to know why you are sharing this propaganda.
Some of you truly want to inform/warn people and are genuinely concerned about their well being. These will be given the benefit of the doubt and reminded to check their facts. A second infraction will be cause for removal.
Some people post these things maliciously with the intent to rile people up. Those will be unfriended immediately. Likewise for the sheep who share it because, if it is on the internet it must be true. I have no time for such ignorance.
The more unbelievable the headline, the more likely it is to not be true. I know this is not always the case. There are atrocities happening in the world every day, so it is easy to accept everything you read as fact. Do not! Be informed. Be proactive. Be a thinking person.
I know I am not faultless in this arena. I want to be told if I have jerked my knee. Don't stand on ceremony. Show me where I have erred. Then unfriend me.
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