Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Power Of Misinformation

On Twitter just moments ago, a tweet from a friend included a link to this Snopes article, debunking a particular urban myth about refugees receiving more government assistance than retirees. It's the sort of thing that everyone should read at least a few examples of, as it really conveys the way people will use absolute rubbish to push their own agenda.

In this case, it may have originally started as an honest mistake - a one-time payment being interpreted as a monthly sum - but it's awfully hard to believe that the subsequent clarification in the same outlet wasn't read by the person who started the big ball of bullshit rolling. Not surprisingly, given the ideology-driven motivation involved, the discovery that the "facts" behind the outrage were complete nonsense did nothing to stem the tide of indignation that flowed out from the initial misinterpretation. Never let the truth get in the way of your argument!

No comments: