No its TRUE. I saw it on the Internet

In my generation, yes I am getting to that age where I talk about "my generation", our parents taught us about gossiping and spreading rumors that weren't true.  In my generation, you had to call people on the phone or spread the propaganda in person so you had to think twice because the blame is all on you.
 Those days are OVER.

Today, you can post just about anything you want on the Internet and through the magic of photoshop you can make anything LOOK real.  The REALity is that half of what is "shared" on facebook or "googled" is propaganda. News that has been spun to benefit the author.  I don't know how many "Facts about Obama or Bush" I have read and after some research in to the article found half truths and misrepresentation in them.

So here is where YOU COME IN.

If you really care about the cause, the person, the animal, the illness, the politics, the tragedy that you just "reposted" while you were eating your lunch and drinking your latte then you would take the time to confirm it's validity.  Here are some common "shares" you ALL Need to be aware of

1.  Dr. will perform surgery on blah blah person if he gets 1,000 likes
   Who in their right mind HONESTLY thinks that a world renowned surgeon is hovering over his laptop anxiously waiting for that 1,000th like so that he can perform this life saving surgery on a deserving child?
   
2. APPLE is NOT giving away a free phone.
   Reposting a stock photo of IPhone's with your color choice will not get you a phone. At this point in iPhone's  monopoly of the technology do you honestly think this is remotely true?
   
3. LIKE this picture of a little girl with a bruise to her face if you are against child abuse.
   First of all I ain't "liking" any pictures of injured children or animals nor should you and why perpetuate a photo that is either photoshopped or of a real child who is not benefiting in any way shape or form from her pic being shared across the Internet.
   
4. POST this very long lawyer type disclaimer so that Facebook doesn't use your pictures or anything else for public use.
   People, you just posting a status will not stop this. There are privacy settings for that. READ
   
5. Facebook is going to charge us monthly unless you like this, post this or share this.
   As of today Facebook has never attempted to charge it's users and it makes BILLIONS in advertising. The advertisers promoting are their customers. FB NEEDS you, not your puny monthly charge.

I know there are plenty more that I could bullet but honestly I'm getting annoyed rehashing them in my mind so here goes a bit of a rant.

As far as political posts go, it's useless to try and reason with any of you. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and whatever else the party du jour is.  If you support Obama you will repost every piece of news real or fake that flashes across your page that is pro Obama. If you hate Obama you will do the same. Neither side takes the time to research the information to ensure it's accuracy. NEITHER. And if you say you do you are a liar because you want people to believe what you believe when it comes to politics and if spreading misinformation recruits one more person to your "side" you will do it. So there's no point in trying to stop you. That's why I installed socialfixer.org to my FB page. This way I can hide all your political posts and not feel the need to research them all because it takes too much time, too much effort for you just to tell me that after hours of fact finding that my findings are wrong because they oppose your political beliefs.

As far as Jesus goes. I find it interesting that I never see posts from the Jewish Faith, the Hindus, the Buddhists, the followers of Allah,, etc. etc.  You get the idea. Only Jesus. Like this, share that and if you don't it means you don't love God.  People, don't let the sins of mortal men in the Catholic Church drive you to shove your religious beliefs down other peoples throats and for those true believers in God or Jesus Christ you already know that if you happen to miss reposting that really bad Jesus picture it doens't mean you are going to hell (probably purgatory for a bit j/k). If I don't "like this or share that" it doesn't mean I don't have faith it means I think your post is stupid and a waste of time.

Famous people are more important the soldiers who die every day.  NO, the men and women who give their lives everyday are NOT less important than when Whitney Houston died.  No one person is more important than another. HOWEVER, this is social media.  The passing of Whitney Houston was world wide news because she was KNOWN worldwide. She was a household name across the world. THAT's why you saw it everywhere because we "knew" her. When a soldier is lost it is a greater tragedy than someone like Whitney, however we don't KNOW them. We don't HEAR about them and that would be because  ladies and gentlemen it is a tragic, horrific and private event for families who DO NOT live their lives in the spotlight. Many families don't want photos of their husband, father, son, daughter, wife, mother splayed all over the net as a constant reminder and those that do spread the word and by the power of facebook it reaches your computer screen. Do you REALLY want to honor the fallen?  Go here http://militarytimes.com/valor/ or make a donation to wounded warriors, or other charities that focus on the brave men and women who have lost their lives for our freedom.  Don't have money? Donate your time to a local VA or have a food drive for homeless veterans.  The constant barrage of photos about the masses paying more attention to the deaths of celebrities versus our military is ridiculous in my mind. Raise awareness not propaganda.

BEFORE YOU POST about a missing child. Be responsible and verify its validity:

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4319

BEFORE YOU POST any news stories that look more like "stories" than news go here:

http://www.snopes.com/

You can search snopes with some key words to verify a story. For instance remember the whole Starbucks refusing to donate to soldiers. Check this article out from Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp

The moral of this rant disguised as a blog today is that we are too lazy, too complacent and too trusting with what we "share" on social media. Be responsible. Think before you like, share or repost.  Don't be a gossip monger.  

Social Media outlets are a breeding ground for sick, pathetic people who use the Internet to bully, perpetuate  untruths and propaganda.  If any of these individuals had to stand before a group of people and recite their chain letters, hoaxes, pleas for help and explain the validity of their photoshopped pictures they would surely fall down and die. It's easy to hide behind the Internet. Don't be a party to it. 

Take responsibility for what you post.

Thanks. Now go ahead back to your pages and repost me ANOTHER picture of Obama in a turban cuz I haven't seen enough of those and the next one just might make me question his citizenship and don't forget to share that photo of the baby with a cleft lip because I heard the doctor won't operate til he gets 10,000 likes.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to the backlash :)