Trust, But Verify: Being Responsible with Social Media

by Joe Brockmeier - Apr. 26, 2010Comments (1)

Whisper "A lie can run around the world six times while the truth is still trying to put on its pants." Mark Twain said this when news moved at the speed of the telegraph, imagine what he'd clock a lie at now. This weekend a rumor asserting that Apple would require all software to be signed in order to run on Mac OS X 10.7 made its way through Identi.ca and Twitter with astonishing speed. Few bothered to notice that the source of the rumor did not cite any evidence for the assertion. It went from an unverified post on a non-news site to a hot topic in no time at all.

While it's not reasonable to expect readers to verify every single chunk of information, it's disappointing to see the reaction that accompanied this "news." Rather than asking, "is that really true?" the report was republished and discussed as if Steve Jobs himself made the announcement.

For the record, it appears that Apple is not requiring signed binaries or an iPhone/iPad style App OS for Mac OS X 10.7. But I'd be willing to bet that, come 10.7, some folks will be warning others away from 10.7 because of that "feature" they read about.

Apple's developer policies are getting fairly restrictive, but the company's critics should at least stick to the facts when taking Cupertino to task.

As a standalone, this wouldn't be a cause for concern. But it's something that happens far too often: Someone spouts off on a mailing list or blog without doing any research, and it spreads to other lists, microblogging services, and ultimately winds up on Slashdot. In this environment, rumors quickly become fact. Folks who read the discussions on lists and Identi.ca or Twitter may never see follow-ups (if they happen) that debunk or clarify the rumors.

Verifying sources and confirming facts used to be something that only journalists were expected to do. This is because journalists were the only folks with the power of the press. We're all journalists now, in the sense we have the ability to carry our words to thousands or even millions of people in less time than it takes to boil water for a good cup of tea.

Don't believe everything you read on Twitter, Facebook, Identi.ca, mailing lists, or random blogs. Take a few seconds to use Google News or another source before helping a lie get around the world a little faster.

Image courtesy of Hans van Rijnberk from Flickr under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.