Gossip much?

My parents weren’t much for gossip or rumors. Mom and Dad might listen to the latest neighborhood news, but they didn’t put much stock in information that wasn’t “straight from the horse’s mouth.” And I don’t remember hearing them repeat anything they heard from others outside our home. I used to think most people were raised that way.

But I’m beginning to wonder because too many good people I know don’t seem to understand they are spreading rumors when they forward chain e-mails or share infographics on Facebook and other electronic media.

Let me give you an example. Thanks to the current national debate on gun control, handy-dandy electronic posters and photos with stories are making the rounds. One that caught my eye used different photos of a young woman paired with a long caption that included the statement of Darrell Scott, father of a Columbine School shooting victim, to a congressional panel.

Although Mr. Scott’s statement is reproduced accurately, the background information and conclusion attached to his words have been altered to politicize his testimony. I easily discovered the inaccuracies and hyperbole via a quick search at www.snopes.com.

Unfortunately, instead of taking a couple of minutes to ferret out the truth, most folks simply hit “Share,” spreading this Internet gossip. Given the power of the father’s words, I think the media manipulators who altered the story have done him a disservice – because the false context overshadows and hijacks his message.

But that’s the point. Public relations/communication companies and political organizations hire people to create and distribute these messages. Through careful word choices, image selection, color, animation and other tactics, they craft these messages to manipulate you.

The goal is to push your emotional buttons so you react strongly without thinking. So not for the last time, I’m going to recommend if you’re not willing to verify the story, don’t pass it on. Because if you do, you are advancing someone else’s agenda – one that may be hidden and malicious. Otherwise, why hide it? Why circulate information anonymously?

I asked that about the last chain e-mail that landed in my inbox. It was a list of symbolic meanings for each of the 13 folds in a ceremonial presentation flag.

After checking it on Snopes and determining most of the e-mail’s contents were harmless (the exception was a rhetorical jab at separation of church and state), I nearly let it go. But then I scrolled to the end to see flashing stripes and rolling stars; the cheap electronic equivalent of a patriotic car magnet. It was just too much for me, so I hit Reply All and sent the Snopes link with a short note.

As one of my Facebook friends noted recently, there are simple ways to verify these items. And he warned if his friends won’t check them, he will do it publicly. Then he signed his post “The Debunking Ba****d.” I swiftly agreed.

So if I’m on one of your e-mail lists or you’ve friended me on Facebook, consider yourself warned.