Ah, social media: that wonderful parallel universe where we all suddenly become experts in everything. We have self-proclaimed epidemiologists, armchair economists, Facebook virologists, nuclear engineers who studied on Instagram, and, of course, investigative journalists who need no more than a clickbait headline to "uncover the truth." But among these modern heroes of digital society, one category stands out in particular: those who share news without even pretending to verify it. Why waste five seconds on a quick fact-check when you can, with a click, spread a global hoax? Why would anyone bother with the ethical concern of NOT contributing to the growth of global ignorance? Skepticism? What’s that?
Isn’t it a splendid skill? Not everyone has it. It takes a particular kind of carelessness, a natural predisposition to unconditional acceptance, almost an art form to say, "Yes, it's true because I read it on Facebook."
The art of superficiality: verifying is for the weak.
I know, I know, I’m the one exaggerating. Why should you waste precious time verifying a piece of news? Verifying is boring, it requires mental effort that could drain the energy you need for the next quiz about which type of pizza represents your personality. And besides, who needs reliable sources when there's a meme that explains it in a much more fun and concise way?
Take, for instance, that news that periodically pops up on Facebook: "The Assyrians were the first to practice scuba diving." It’s always accompanied by an image of a bas-relief of an Assyrian warrior, floating amidst stylized waves, breathing from a bag full of air.
But now I ask myself, Holy Virgin of the Abyss. You're part of a diving group; it’s assumed that you've at least taken an Open Water course and learned some basic buoyancy concepts... but how on earth can you believe—not that a goat’s stomach can be taken underwater full of air and remain totally waterproof—but that an Assyrian warrior could dive with a one-meter-long balloon and swim across the Euphrates without surfacing even once?
The danger of reasoning: why bother thinking?
Thinking, reflecting, doubting... all these mental activities risk slowing down your immediate response on social media. Imagine the scenario: you receive a piece of news that says, "The planet is heating up because ants are plotting against us," but you, fool, stop for a second to wonder if it’s true or not. Too late! While you’re engaging those neurons, someone else has already shared the post, earning dozens of likes and approving comments. You can’t afford to miss out on all that.
And let’s talk about Google. Ah, that terrible tool that forces you to read more than one link to figure out if what you saw on a fake news site is true or not. But why bother? It’s much easier to use the “share now, ask tomorrow” method. And besides, who cares if you've spread a huge hoax? If someone points out that you're wrong, you can always reply with a nice, “Eh, but I saw it on the Internet, so it could be true!”
The real tragedy of fact-checking: taking the joy out of sharing.
The beauty of sensational news is its sensationalism. If you stop to check whether it’s true or not, you risk finding out it isn’t. We live in an age of instant truth, where the loudest voice wins.
And then there’s always the final argument: “But if it weren’t true, why would someone say it?” Yeah, right, why would there be people with hidden agendas, scammers, manipulators, or even trolls on the Internet, spreading false information for fun or profit? No, the Internet is full of honest folks who care deeply about your mental and physical well-being. It’s crystal clear!
The avalanche effect: welcome to the era of shared ignorance.
The phenomenon of fake news spreading like a virus is a true masterpiece of our time. It’s almost poetic how a single lie, launched into the virtual space, transforms into an undeniable truth thanks to hundreds of shares. And it doesn’t matter if it’s blatantly absurd: if enough people share it, then it becomes true. That’s the power of social sharing! Isn’t it amazing?
But really, who needs evidence when you can have the comfort of confirming your bias?
In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.
They say that Donald Miller once said, “In the age of information, ignorance is a choice"; I don’t know if it’s true, and I don’t feel like checking, so I’ll share it anyway, joyfully and without a care. But whether he said it or not, what does it mean? It means that each of us carries a little device in our pockets, a few hundred grams, that gives us immediate access to all the knowledge in human history.
Every time we read a piece of information, our critical sense should alert us: “Is this true, or are they pulling my leg?” and verify it.
Umberto Eco used to say that a cultured person is not someone who knows every piece of information, but someone who, when necessary, knows where to find it (he really did say this, no need to verify it).
And so, in two minutes, the cultured person would find out that the bas-relief of the Assyrian floating like an Assyrian turd (not equipped with a balloon) is in London, at the British Museum (where nearly all of humanity’s movable antiquities reside), in the Northwest Palace, Room B, Panel 11, cat. WA124541, and as the informational card explains, it does not depict a warrior diving while breathing from a bag of air, but an Assyrian floating, breathing normally, filling the balloon with air to keep floating.
So no, the Assyrians didn’t invent scuba diving.
But, as the philanthropist Joseph Goebbels used to say, “Repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth” (No, he didn’t say that, he said, "Die Engländer gehen nach dem Prinzip vor, wenn du lügst, dann lüge gründlich, und vor allem bleibe bei dem, was du gelogen hast! Sie bleiben also bei ihren Schwindeleien, selbst auf die Gefahr hin, sich damit lächerlich zu machen," but even this nonsense, repeated often enough, became the truth. After all, Voltaire supposedly said that he would fight to the death to guarantee anyone’s right to spout nonsense. No, Voltaire never said that either, but that lie too has become true after so much repetition). And it’s no surprise that Goebbels' theories find remarkable confirmation in the spread of ignorance on social media.
Conclusion: Long live ignorance!
At the end of the day, we must really ask ourselves: who needs to think when you can simply click “Share”? Thinking is overrated. Verifying is for those with too much free time. And the truth? Well, that’s just an optional feature in the digital age. So, to all the serial sharers, the knights of unverified information: thank you. Thank you for reminding us that, in today’s world, superficiality is a virtue, ignorance is a blessing, and fact-checking is just a bothersome obstacle in the way of fun.
Disclaimer: I couldn’t care less if this post makes me seem arrogant and pretentious. Anyone offended by this post is its intended recipient.
Comments