When You Think About It: FIND the Truth.

F LoBuono

We have, shall we say, an accurate information epidemic going on in our Country. Even those with the best of intentions are often led down the path of mis and disinformation.

And, it's getting worse.

Led by the Liar-In-Chief, we are barraged with messages from those who would bend the truth, if not shatter it, to suit their own needs and line their pockets. Some of it is so outrageous that it boggles the mind to think that anyone could possible find ANY truth in it. I give the rumor that Hillary Clinton and John Podesta were running a child pornography ring out of a DC pizzeria as my evidence. Yes, I'm talking about the legendary Pizzagate. Still, there are many who still actually believe this!

But, there are others fabrications that are much more subtle.

The example that comes to mind here is the current Facebook meme concerning how it uses an algorithm to determine the flow of information coming from your circle of friends. It goes on to claim (with a form letter) that it has worked incredibly well. But, everyone who reads it needs to leave a "hello" or other brief message to continue to be connected.

Harmless enough, right?

Well, the problem is, IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE. There is no such algorithm. Some entity (perhaps a Russian bot) made it up. And, it proves that if you say something enough, i.e. over and over again, people will believe it - and, that can be dangerous.

Now, my intention is not to insult those who participated. Some of my best friends did :). Rather, it is to bring to light that we live in a new era of massive amounts of information being disseminated at a rate that can be crippling. Alvin Tolver's Future Shock comes to mind here. Technology, and the flow of information that comes with it, is simply overwhelming us. It's understandable.

But, on the other hand, there is no excuse not to use the very tool that gives us the wrong information to find the right. The stakes are too high not to.

It was so simple to find out whether it was true or not.

Typing the information into an Internet search engine, in this case the omnipresent Google, I found a number of websites that I consider reliable who debunked that meme as completely false. You can also find some information as to where it began and how it began to spread. I suppose the bottom line, is that it is simply false.

People will say that, "it's harmless".

But, is it?

Do you know the real purpose as to why someone would post something that seemed so real but was actually so false? If you're like me, I would question that person's intention. Are they using it to track me for more information? I would rather err on the side of caution and NOT participate.

Besides, there are the ethics of participating in something that is intentionally, for whatever reason, false. I simply refuse.

So, do Frankie a favor and stop posting The Algorithm from Hell. If you need to find me, you know how to. Send me a personal message and I'll do the same when I think of you.

That is all . . .