Social Media and Truth

Question everything. That's the mantra I live by when learning new information from the internet.

It tends to begin with one of the friends I follow on twitter or posting some piece of information. I take the bait if it seems liken interesting story. I click on the link if there is one, and so begins my quest to find out if I believe the story is true.

If at first look the link takes me to what I consider a reputable news source, then I might be content. If the story isn't too outlandish, I may be satisfied. If not, the hunt continues. I have clicked on that initial link that peaks my interest several times and then spent significant time in search for the truth.

I feel like I know the truth about a story when there is a first hand account, photographic or video evidence or two or more major news sources use the words "we can confirm."

Depending on the importance of the story I may not go to such lengths. A celebrity breakup may not grab my attention and someone prematurely killed off on twitter for the fifth time might just be too unbelievable to waist time looking up. There's also the occasion where others in social media figure out if a story is untrue before I need to do it myself.

Today I learned that Oliver Stone will not be directing the Martin Luther King biopic via a friend's Facebook post. The friend cited that the studio did not want to allow him to include his documented infidelity in the movie. This particular post was also shared by another friend and included the following link: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/01/17/oliver-stone-martin-luther-king-project/

Within the article there are screen shots from Oliver Stone's twitter feed to validate the truthfulness of the article and to further show his explanation of why he is not directing the film. Stone himself is  providing confirmation. For me, this story meets my criteria for truth.