Be careful what you read and believe as 'news' on social media

The adage has been ascribed to many, and it has taken various forms through the centuries, but its spot-on accuracy has remained.

"A lie is halfway 'round the world before the truth has its boots on."

Tell us about it.

Two centuries ago, a lie made its way hither and yon mostly by word of mouth. Today, there is a much more efficient deliverer of untruths — the internet. Specifically, social media platforms with unsourced/unverified "news."

A world-ranging game of electronic "telephone," social media posts regarding "news" often make mountains out of molehills and exaggerate to staggering levels.

We see this regularly.

Sometimes, a social media post will start with a kernel of truth.

A recent example: During the SEMO District Fair, social media posts alleged shots fired at the fair forced organizers to close early one night.

That would be a big deal, if true.

Thursday, Dustin Richardson, vice president of the fair's board, said it didn't happen. He said the fair closed at its scheduled time each night and that he believed shots fired in the area of the fair had not been on the fairgrounds but to the west of the site.

So, shots fired in the area of the fair became "shots fired at the fair, prompting officials to shut down the event." A kernel of truth blown entirely out of proportion.

Other times, though, there is no truth whatsoever in the information.

This is a disturbing trend we've seen locally in the past couple months.

Social media posts have included pictures of children who supposedly were lost in Cape Girardeau — one involved a baby supposedly dropped on a doorstep. The posts encourage sharing so people can help locate the missing children's parents. (Instead of contacting authorities, by the way.)

A post from last week included two pictures of a man supposedly cutting off catalytic converters from vehicles in town. A closer look at the origin of the post revealed telltale signs of it being bogus. The social media account had been created that day, the post was the first for the account, and there was no personal information about the user on the account profile. Hmmm.

The Southeast Missourian newsroom spends time trying to verify whether news tips — information called in, sent by email and, yes, posted on social media — are accurate. A lost child in Cape Girardeau would be news. Catalytic converter theft would be news. Gunplay at the fair would be news. And so, we ask questions and track down the truth. Often as not, the social media "news" is only partially true or completely untrue.

The larger and more concerning issue is these social media posts are often taken as fact-based news accounts. And unsuspecting consumers run with the information, sharing it to others.

There is no penalty for sharing falsehoods on social media platforms. So, this scourge won't be going away. We just wish truth could dress faster.