Know Your Sources

There have been several times this week when I have seen people believe something posted on Facebook that is obviously false. It seems that if someone sees something that aligns with their political or religious views, they just believe it. It doesn’t seem to mater which direction they lean, they just want to believe something that backs them up.

What was the craziest this I saw this week? Someone said that the attempted land grab in Maui is a conspiracy to create an AI government. I knew this was wrong as soon as I saw it. I did a quick Google search to find out what the government in Hawaii is doing about this problem. One of the first things I found was an article from the Associated Press saying that the governor is trying to halt the sale of land for now in an attempt to prevent developers from taking advantage of the native Hawaiians. 

I know it is a lot easier to believe something that boosts your beliefs, but spreading information without verification can be dangerous. It doesn’t take much time to check sources.