Sharing Hoax Facebook Photo’s Bolster’s Gullibility And Feeds Deceit

Those of you who know me well, know exactly where I stand on religion, politics and our government.  I'm not shy about sharing my opinion and that's all today's post is.  It's an opinion based on facts and just a few minutes of research that could save us all some credibility. Are we really this gullible?

I am on record saying the world we live in today has made us the laziest society in the history of mankind.  We assume way too much and rely way to heavily on social media with Facebook being the #1 culprit.  While I think Facebook is an incredible source and wealth of information and the best way to share information within our communities, it also creates a mass amount of gullibility.

It's amazing what gets shared on Facebook as being the gospel truth and the outcome makes things even worse in a lot of cases.  With the internet right at our fingertips, truth is only seconds or minutes away. If we are going to rely on Facebook for passing along truthful information, we're screwed.  Take these classic examples that have made their run on Facebook for 2+ years.

The feature photo is a classic example of the President being photoshopped and has several different versions. This one is my favorite because the placement of the Idi Amin picture in the background is a horrible job.  Obama hitting the bong was pretty good, but it's an entire photoshop job.  Just like the one of the President and the First Lady using their left arms to cover their heart during the National Anthem somewhere.

Here is one of my favorites.  This above photo has been around now for 3 years, that I know of. In 2011, the story was the photo was from Montana.  Last year in 2012, it was Alaska and now in 2013 we are to believe it was just last week after the snowstorm that hit the Dakota's.  In reality, it's Japan.  This one is easy to debunk...we don't drive on the left side of the road in the United States.

Another one of my favorites is the picture shown above that has made it's rounds for a couple years that talks about how these welfare recipients are while waiting for the check line to open and killing time on their fancy iPhones. :32 seconds and a quick Google search will show the picture was actually taken in Thailand. These folks are waiting for a train, not a welfare check. The fact that they are holding their spot in line with their shoes is not lazy at all, it's sheer brilliance.

And finally, this one. There are again several versions of this but the most classic example is that this will prove once and for all that President Obama is not a United States citizen and that 'Obama wants it removed from the internet so hurry and share it. ' This one is almost embarrassing.  A quick search and glance at the card ID# clearly proves it belongs to a completely different person.

Truth?  They are all scams in one way or the other which they benefit from.  Most, if not all, can be traced back to it's original source from where it's being shared and those sites are getting paid according to their traffic.  TRUTH means nothing to them...it's all about shares, likes and traffic.  So next time you see something that is too good to be true...it is. Save yourself some face and break the cycle.

Take back American with truth...not deception and by all means, at least don't add to it. Research takes less than 1 minute and way less embarrassing in the long run.