An alien landed near me over the weekend. He came out of his flying saucer and had a friendly conversation with me. Since the Weekly World News isn’t printed anymore, I’ll share this momentous news with you on social media.
See the picture? That’s proof enough for anyone — especially if you want to believe.
Unless you’re a very naive small child or have some serious brain damage, you know that I’m not telling the truth. You know it’s a joke or an April Fool’s gag. Or maybe it’s satire. You know that because you apply critical thinking skills. You ask yourself whether it’s more likely this is true or not.
But even though almost everyone would know this claim isn’t true, it’s also true that many people — maybe most people — uncritically accept equally bogus claims on social media.
It happens every single day. And if the idiotic social media post is making a point that supports whatever you already believe, many people — maybe even you — will eagerly share that nonsensical post.
Even if you have the best of intentions, sharing such nonsense — without reasonable and rational evidence — makes you part of someone else’s monumental lie. And the lies are getting bigger and bigger, to the point that scanning a social media feed is now a bit like reading the headlines on the covers of the dumbest old supermarket tabloids.
Are you doing that?

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