Such things used to be (and to some extent still are) the domain of chain emails, foolishly forwarded and rather irritating at best.
But these days we are getting these posts shoved in our face by those people around us who 'like' or comment on such things.
So what are these things, what is wrong with them, and how can we spot/avoid them?
Here goes...
The variety of things we come across often fall into these categories:
- Hoaxes
- Scams
- Jokes
- Like/Comment gathering
Hoaxes
Posts that claim something that just isn't true, or is edited to make it seem more impressive/interesting.
Examples:
- 'Coughing' saves your life if you're having a heart attack
- Madeleine McCann New Zealand Lookalike Facebook Post
Scams
Like a hoax, but trying to convince you to do/buy something.
- Free iPhone 6 for testers!
Jokes
These are posts that tell you that you will see something exciting if you make a certain comment, or 'like' the post.
- You won't believe what happens when you press this button
Like/Comment gathering
Ok, so all the above 3 can actually fit into this category as well. Their goal is to get you to 'like' or comment, so they can build a reputation for their page and then sell it on later (possibly under a different name) so that the next owner can share stuff straight to your wall/feed.
Basically anything that tells/begs you to join in should be treated with strong suspicion. It may seem innocuous enough right now, but it will return to bite you in your trouser-seat.
These attempts to hijack your feed use all sorts of techniques - often guilt - to get you talking and sharing. Commonly you get things like:
- Like this if you think this [terminally ill] person is beautiful
- Share this if you want to stop cancer
- Comment or like if you can spot the mistake
Avoiding the pitfalls
Some simple rules:If it tells you to comment/like it - don't.
If it says it's giving away something for free - it's probably not.
If it tells you something surprising/unbelievable - check it out yourself before believing it!
Testing for the hoaxes
My favourite sites for checking out suspicious or interesting new 'facts' are usually among the top Google results if the article was a scam anyway.Pick some keywords from the post - particularly unique ones - or put a phrase in quotation marks.
For example, a lot of people have reposted the 'Cough CPR' method for surviving a heart-attack.
I Googled the following:
"coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating"
(The quotation marks around the phrase search for the whole, exact phrase, so they are necessary.)
The first 3 results were all from hoax-exposing websites. Mystery solved in 10 seconds flat.
Best hoax-defeating sites:
www.hoax-slayer.com
www.snopes.com
Both of the above go into some details about the various hoaxes that they cover, citing the sources for the original information, explanations of how/why this is false (or true - some of these posts are just interesting and true!) and give you plenty of confidence that you are now in possession of the 'real story'.
So, should I correct my friends?
Oh dear, I may have to leave this one to you. Social politics are an awkward beast.I suppose the best advice I would give is to try to be tactful. If someone has reposted an article about saving lives then assume that their heart was in the wrong place. Maybe you could be subtle and gentle in your response.
I must admit that I often jump on in there and let my friends know that the information isn't quite right - I usually let Snopes do most of the talking for me though...
Whatever you decide, just be aware - you're not going to be able to correct everyone's posts.
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| An oldie, but a goodie - XKCD |
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