False CNN statement on Yolanda super typhoon goes viral
Manila : Philippines | Nov 09, 2013 at 2:00 AM PST BY Stef dela Cruz
A statement supposedly from CNN goes viral online. Unfortunately, it didn't come from CNN per se, but from a reader who left a comment on CNN's page.
People around the world are sharing a photo of an alleged statement from CNN that refers to the Filipinos as “unbelievably resilient” and “a bunch of survivors.” Here’s the catch: No such statement came from CNN.
The tech blog Tech Envy called out the glaring error via an Instagram post, saying, “…CNN did NOT post this.” The post goes on to say, “We should give our fellow Pinoys all the support they can get, whether it be financial or emotional, but there is no [place] for misinformation. Let's not add ‘gullible’ to the list of adjectives with which they describe us Filipinos.”
One of the telltale signs that the statement did not come from CNN: The word “ingenious” was misspelled in the first sentence of the alleged statement. (The statement actually came from a reader who left a comment on CNN’s news portal.)
The photo of CNN’s supposed statement went viral after super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the most powerful tropical storm this year, hit the Philippines November 8.
Today’s generation: Gullible to (erroneous) online information?
In an era of blogs and social media, have people become susceptible to half-baked truths? Are people bound to believe what they see online despite the signs pointing to its inaccuracy?
On Nov. 5, a satirical article announcing a politician’s arrest after smuggling money by hiding it between his wife’s breasts also went viral. Readers leaving comments on the popular blog seemed to believe the news, instead of taking it for what it was: Satire.
Soon after, the senator in question felt compelled to release a statement regarding the article’s lack of truth. Funny how one satirical article led to a media ruckus, simply because people thought it was true.
Rappler criticized the inability of many Filipinos to discern truth in an article published Nov. 6. “Why can’t many Filipinos tell truth from satire?” the article wonders out loud. “This would have been understandable if the article’s satire was too subtle… However, many parts in the article clearly screamed satire…”
Netizens: A call to critical thinking
With information readily available online, it is important for netizens to know the difference between what is true and what isn’t. When we believe what we read online just as readily as we would believe what we hear when eavesdropping at the barber shop, we live not in an era of information, but of misinformation.
Believing in erroneous information, whether satire or a seemingly innocent misquote, can be dangerous.
A perfect example is what happened in Colorado in 2012. A 1-year-old boy who believed he was talking to his parents online tried to poison his nanny after he was “asked by his mom to take the rat poison from the cupboard” and add it to their coffee pot.
OK, that part is not true. A 1-year-old who can go online, reach the cupboard and read the label for rat poison (which shouldn’t be in the cupboard in the first place). If you fell for it, gotcha!