Anyone can give an opinion on any topic using whatever platform they desire, including irritating 20 minute WhatsApp voice notes from ‘real doctors’

 

February 11, 2021

I have heard complaints recently on the ridiculous amount of fake news, links, spam, and hackable content floating around the interwebs.Covid-21 is obviously creating ample opportunity for people to come up with ingenious ways of getting under our skin. Links and videos from ‘a friend of a friend’ are ubiquitous.

Anyone can give an opinion on any topic using whatever platform they desire, including irritating 20 minute WhatsApp voice notes from ‘real doctors’.

Do you frequently experience rolling eyes and exasperated sighs as you try to share these links about what is really going on in the world? 

Questions To Ask Before You Share That Link

Before we get into the tips for sharing digitally, there’s a caveat. Ask yourself a question before you click share: “Why do I want to duplicate this information?” That’s the first secret to whether you should share what’s on your screen, or permanently delete it.

• How does it make you feel?
• Does it seem credible?
• Is it a warning?
• Doesn’t it seem too good to be true?
• Would I want someone I love to tell me about this? Why?
• Has it changed my perspective or behaviour?

These, and many other questions, should precede any action on your part, but don’t press the button until you’re clear on why you want to forward a snippet to others.

Yes, I Want To Share It

If you’re sure you want to forward the information, voice note, link, or news, here are five tips on how to do that without losing face:

1. Fake or True

If you see something dramatic or shocking, check it first. Go to sites like snopes.com, search for your story. Is it on the ‘fake’ list?

If the information has been shared on several news sites with different statistics, numbers, dates, names, or orders of events, don’t share it.

2. Motives Are Everything

Who is sharing the information? Is it current? Look at the date of the social media post or article – was it a missing person from 2016 who has already been found? Don’t share it.

Why would someone bring it up again now? Do you even know that person or are they a social media shadow? Why do you think they would be sharing it here, at this time, on this platform, to this audience? If you don’t know the answer, don’t share it.

3. Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole

Read the article or listen to the voice note right the way through. Did you grow bored halfway? Don’t share it.

Did you skip the article, react to the headline, and get stuck in the explosive comments section? Don’t share it.

4. Find Support

If it is medical information, it should be peer reviewed or well-supported by credible, medical people. Is it a lone doctor on a mission without facts that can be verified?

It is okay to be different, but nobody is smart enough to stumble upon life-changing information that is not supported by any other credible source anywhere in the world.

5. Tell Them Why

Before you forward anything, type the reasons why you think it applies to the person with whom you want to share it. Also, type what it is, and the bottom line. Is that too much effort? Don’t share it.

Discernment is a virtue in the digital domain. The more rubbish you share, the less people listen.

If you’ve understood your own reaction, checked it isn’t fake, read the whole thing, verified the facts, and thought about the author’s motives, and written your own reasons for forwarding it… share it.

If not, maybe it’s best to connect in another way, like sending a funny GIF, meme or video. Better yet, have dinner together and turn off the Wi-Fi.

Published here.