As you’ve probably read, fake news is showing up in social media and everywhere.
And after you read that, you ask yourself, “Wait a minute, how do I know that the news I just read about fake news isn’t fake news?”
Actually, if you did that, it was a step in the right direction. But if you still are having difficulty telling the difference between fake and real news, we are here to help.
Step 1: Watch the YouTube Documentary – “Dark Side of the Moon – Stanley Kubrick and the Fake Moon Landings.”
At first you may think: “The moon landing was fake? This totally is gonna screw up the trip to the Moon I booked for New Year’s on Expedia.ru.scam!”
Spoiler alert: the documentary is a hoax and lets you in on the joke at the end. The video uses ominous music and real clips of politicians taken out of context to prove a point. The point: with those techniques, anything could seem believable, so don’t trust every so-called documentary you see online.
Step 2: Ask yourself – do you really believe that Louis Vuitton bag or wallet you bought for $20 in the streets of Bangkok is real?
We presume not. So remember you know more about the “stranger in a street in Thailand” than a person writing “news” on an unknown internet site. For example, the stranger in the street has a face – you saw it when you bought the Louis Vuitton fake item. The “person” on the internet may be a faceless computer program!
If a stranger in the street gives you directions do you trust them, or get a second opinion? We imagine eventually when you are walking toward the bad part of town, into a lake, you get a second opinion. Do the same thing before you assume the news is correct.
So look for other reputable sources of the information, like news outlets. Sure new outlets may seem elite, but just remember, if you really want to verify if your street-purchased Louis Vuitton bag is real, you’re going to have to walk into a Louis Vuitton store, and trust us, the employees there seem far more elite than Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
Step 3: Ask yourself, are there implications from buying fake items in the street?
Answer: yes! That’s less money to buy real items. And while you may have never bought a real Louis Vuitton product, there’s some other legitimate, legal retailer who is missing out on your bag or wallet purchase.
Using this analogy, if everyone stops buying news, there are fewer journalists getting paid to find accurate scoops. So as others in the media have recommended, subscribe to a real news service!
Or don’t. Just don’t be upset when people at Christmas dinner are angry after you explain that you saw a video proving the moon landing is fake. They just bought their kids authentic Moon Landing Lego products! You totally ruined Christmas.
