Saturday, December 28, 2019
I feel a little stupid today. I saw an article title stating the Netherlands was no longer going to be using the name Holland. I clicked the link because I thought Holland was a part of the Netherlands along with Sweden, Denmark, Norway and all those other northern European countries. I was wrong. I have been wrong for as long as I learned about the Netherlands in school.
I obviously was not paying attention when we learned about the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a country, not a group of countries. Holland is not a country (although the Netherlands has been called Holland in their tourist advertising for many years); it is two provinces of the Netherlands. How could I have gotten it so wrong? It makes me wonder how many other facts I have wrong in my head. It makes me see how easy it is to believe misinformation.
Many times during the past few years the news has run segments about how blatantly false stories are believed and shared on social media. I have always wondered how people could possibly believe these stories. Do they not question the idea that the Clintons are sex traffickers? Do they not fact check?
Why would people fact check if the information seemed even a little credible. If I had told you Denmark and Sweden were in the Netherlands, you probably would have believed me (unless you knew better) because I believed me. I can be quite persuasive in person. I might even convince someone who knows better (until they fact check me).
If I had spread my misinformation, it would have been a harmless, unintentional mistake. People who knew better would have laughed at my ignorance and people who believed me might tell others, but bad geography is not likely to create problems for anyone until they see a headline that reads, “Why the Netherlands is ditching Holland as its nickname”, click it, and feel a little stupid (like me).
Might you click on a link for “President Trump orders the execution of five turkeys pardoned by Obama” or “NPR: 25 million votes for Clinton ‘completely fake’”? You may think you do not click political story links, so you will never get fooled. What about a link for “Las Vegas: video footage confirms multiple shooters, coordinated attack” or “Expert confirms flu shot behind deadly epidemic that’s killed thousands"? These links could have been legitimate news stories (they were not).
Might you click on an, “I cannot believe it is true, so let me check it out link” such as “Morgue employee cremated by mistake while taking nap” or “Elderly woman accused of training her 65 cats to steal from neighbors” or “Popeyes manager arrested for allegedly dipping chicken in cocaine based flour to increase business sales” or “Death row inmate eats an entire bible at his last meal”? Admit it, you want to know. I probably would have clicked on two of those links.
I am working hard not to clicks links that are not by trusted sources; but is hard to avoid the spoof sites that use similar names to CBS, CNN, or Fox News. It helps that I do not click “news” links on social media, however I sometimes need to fact check an article I find on a google search.
My piece of advice to you is to enjoy your ignorance on subjects that do not matter. I wish I did not know Pluto had been reclassified as a dwarf planet and now we have just eight planets. I grew up with Inter-planet Janet and I miss not being able to share her with my youngest child. However, I do not want to spread misinformation.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
I feel a little stupid today. I saw an article title stating the Netherlands was no longer going to be using the name Holland. I clicked the link because I thought Holland was a part of the Netherlands along with Sweden, Denmark, Norway and all those other northern European countries. I was wrong. I have been wrong for as long as I learned about the Netherlands in school.
I obviously was not paying attention when we learned about the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a country, not a group of countries. Holland is not a country (although the Netherlands has been called Holland in their tourist advertising for many years); it is two provinces of the Netherlands. How could I have gotten it so wrong? It makes me wonder how many other facts I have wrong in my head. It makes me see how easy it is to believe misinformation.
Many times during the past few years the news has run segments about how blatantly false stories are believed and shared on social media. I have always wondered how people could possibly believe these stories. Do they not question the idea that the Clintons are sex traffickers? Do they not fact check?
Why would people fact check if the information seemed even a little credible. If I had told you Denmark and Sweden were in the Netherlands, you probably would have believed me (unless you knew better) because I believed me. I can be quite persuasive in person. I might even convince someone who knows better (until they fact check me).
If I had spread my misinformation, it would have been a harmless, unintentional mistake. People who knew better would have laughed at my ignorance and people who believed me might tell others, but bad geography is not likely to create problems for anyone until they see a headline that reads, “Why the Netherlands is ditching Holland as its nickname”, click it, and feel a little stupid (like me).
Might you click on a link for “President Trump orders the execution of five turkeys pardoned by Obama” or “NPR: 25 million votes for Clinton ‘completely fake’”? You may think you do not click political story links, so you will never get fooled. What about a link for “Las Vegas: video footage confirms multiple shooters, coordinated attack” or “Expert confirms flu shot behind deadly epidemic that’s killed thousands"? These links could have been legitimate news stories (they were not).
Might you click on an, “I cannot believe it is true, so let me check it out link” such as “Morgue employee cremated by mistake while taking nap” or “Elderly woman accused of training her 65 cats to steal from neighbors” or “Popeyes manager arrested for allegedly dipping chicken in cocaine based flour to increase business sales” or “Death row inmate eats an entire bible at his last meal”? Admit it, you want to know. I probably would have clicked on two of those links.
I am working hard not to clicks links that are not by trusted sources; but is hard to avoid the spoof sites that use similar names to CBS, CNN, or Fox News. It helps that I do not click “news” links on social media, however I sometimes need to fact check an article I find on a google search.
My piece of advice to you is to enjoy your ignorance on subjects that do not matter. I wish I did not know Pluto had been reclassified as a dwarf planet and now we have just eight planets. I grew up with Inter-planet Janet and I miss not being able to share her with my youngest child. However, I do not want to spread misinformation.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.