You get what you pay for

Newspaper people are painfully aware that many Americans don’t get their news from traditional trusted sources. For a variety of reasons these folks have turned instead to get their information from social media, like Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Truth Social.

The problem is that these sites often don’t present facts from people you can trust. In fact, their info may not come from real people at all. Instead, their stuff may be generated by artificial intelligence — AI. Computers can be programmed to make stuff up and distribute it without human oversight. Stories are generated by “bots”, fake photos and videos are created in Photoshop. This stuff is often generated overseas, by people who don’t have our best interests at heart. And gullible readers believe them.

Traditional news organizations employ reporters and editors to check the facts before publishing. But there’s no oversight on X or Truth Social. It’s become the Wild West of journalism by people who have an axe to grind or score to settle.

It’s happening right now in the aftermath of the hurricanes that have been ravaging the southeast region of the United States, particularly North Carolina and Georgia.

Cranks, malefactors and sleaze balls have been posting lies on social media that the state and federal government aren’t doing anything to help victims of these devastating hurricanes that have killed more than 200 people and caused billions of dollars in property damage, destroying homes and businesses that have taken lifetimes and life savings to build.

It’s in this scene of chaos that the troublemakers spread their lies. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia actually posted that the hurricanes were generated by the Biden Administration, creating the storms to destroy Republican areas of the country. She’s the same nut who claimed in a June 2018 Facebook post that Jewish space lasers caused wildfires in California. Some people believe this crazy talk. And no one on Facebook is doing anything to stop her nonsense.

Donald Trump and his vice presidential candidate JD Vance have amplified these lies in recent campaign appearances, claiming FEMA has been inept and corrupt in its response to last week’s Hurricane Helene. In fact, Republican governors and mayors of the affected areas have refuted these charges, praising the federal government for a quick and humane response to the crisis. The federal government has sent thousands of workers and hundreds of millions of dollars to aid the devastated victims, with more aid on the way.

Local media have taken up the cause to bring truth back to the discussion. In an editorial last week the Charlotte (NC) Observer wrote, “This is not a situation to capitalize on for political gain. But former President Donald Trump has politicized the situation at every turn, spreading falsehoods and conspiracies that fracture the community instead of bringing it together. By every indication, state and federal agencies have been working to help people in need. They’ve been airlifting food and other supplies to affected areas.”

The whole batch of lies about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, started with a woman who posted a rumor to Facebook without checking to see if it was true. Of course, it wasn’t. But in a flash it was irresponsibly repeated by JD Vance at campaign events. He’s still talking about it. Denunciations of the rumor by the mayor of Springfield and the governor of Ohio — both Republicans — couldn’t stop the deluge of lies. The woman who posted it now regrets her actions.

As the old saying goes, a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can pull her boots on.

Facebook, Instagram and X are great places to brag about your family, show pictures of some dinner you ate, and post pictures from your vacation. But don’t rely on these sites for accurate information. Without supervision, what is written there cannot be trusted and the misinformation (that’s a polite word for lies) destroys faith in the truth and creates chaos. It’s easy to sit anonymously at home behind a computer screen and puke out all sorts of bile without any fact-checking.

Irresponsible information posted online is a major cause of hatred that’s festering throughout society. The most outrageous claims get the most “clicks.” Foreign agents take this opportunity to poison our minds. Our old adversary Russia is a leading culprit in stirring up turmoil in America, according to the FBI.

I’m a realist. Social media are here to stay. They can be fun, informative and play an important part in our lives. We just need to read it with a discerning eye.

There’s a reason Facebook and TikTok and X are free, while newspapers charge for information. It costs money to search out the truth. You get what you pay for.