Steven Wright in one of his clever monologues, reminds us that,”Half the people you know are below average.” So, it’s not surprising that those folks have trouble discerning between fact and fiction. However, even the brightest among us can get caught when navigating between truth and pretend truth—not only on the internet, but also on our television screens and in some periodicals.

It bears repeating that if it’s “FAKE,” it’s made up gibberish. Anonymity helps those who spread their own made up truths on the internet, and suddenly anyone can, with impunity, claim to be a journalist or an authority.

I suggest that before reading anything, you look to the source. However, watch out, because even in print, sometimes a piece is not written by who you think it is written. Sometimes a paid ghost writer is hired to influence readers. Whether it’s on your I-Pad or on your computer, if you see that the author belongs to an institute you have never heard of— Beware! Look it up!

For instance, a person on the acting board of Clunk-Head Institute might not be best qualified to write an expose about a candidate for public office, whom he has exposed in his book, published by CHI that you can buy for $1.95.

I like reading letters to the editor in my newspaper, because when people submit their opinions they have to sign their names. In other words, they claim responsibility for what they write, and those letters are vetted by reputable editors—unlike anonymous letters from Russian hacks submitted on our computers.

Recently, one of my favorite letters appeared in the Arizona Daily Star. The author wrote, “I have always thought amusing the story of the Emperor Caligula who reportedly appointed his horse, Incitatus to the Roman Senate.” The author then stated his opinion of a recent political appointment adding, “At least those Romans got the whole horse.”

If someone tells you he read a news story about something, ask him where he read it. I’ll bet nine times out of ten he won’t remember.

When I was writing my humor columns for Business Atlanta Magazine, a man told me that he liked my story that had been published in the New York Times, so much, that he had it framed.
I said, “Thank You.” Perhaps, I should have corrected him, but he was so happy that he had done that. Who was I to correct him?

Misinformation can be so dangerous, because when a lie is intentionally repeated often enough, it becomes propaganda, and people are swayed by planned untruths to influence their behavior—usually in a negative way— by those who have a nefarious agenda.
These are not facts that have been gathered by scrupulous  journalists and vetted by honest editors. This can include junk science and advertisements that want to sell you any poison pill that you are willing to swallow.

And remember, as Steven Wright says, “82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.”

Before you believe that, consider the source.

Esther Blumenfeld