Picture this! You’re scrolling on YouTube in desperate need to find a video to keep you entertained before you eat. You eventually stumble across a random YouTuber or possibly one of your favs and the title captivates you. “Bigfoot spotted on a camping trip.” Your only option now is to hopefully click on it out of curiosity. However, as you watch the video, the tuber lures you into his story and fakes a big footstep imprinted in the woods to keep their viewers. A few weeks later the video blew up on all social media platforms and many shared conspiracy theories on how the government secretly “covered it up.” Notice how I made that up, and no this article isn’t about Bigfoot, although it would seem cool! Social media has gradually become accessible to anyone. However, given the power that it holds, people are entitled to anything as long as it does not cross the community guidelines. This means you are allowed to share your public views, but many are guilty of spreading misinformation.

There are many intentions a person may have to catch the public eye with misinformation. Such things can lead to the desire to make more money, attention/social validation, scaring others, and many more. Many people might find this fun at the moment, but it can lead to big corruption in just the blink of an eye. It’s one thing to use your platform for good, but it’s another to have bad intentions- and that’s something that many need to realize. An artist by the name of Lauryn Hill a hip-hop and vocal icon, battled with gossip tied around the fact that someone mentioned that she said something along the lines of ,“I would rather die than have a white person buy one of my albums.” However, Lauryn had to prove her innocence on MTV to address that her music should be for everyone, not just a particular group. Words can be easily twisted, and with this her career was in jeopardy, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her career. Many artists we know today have also been accused of something they didn’t do- such as Keanu Reeves, Snoop Dogg, Amy Winehouse, etc.

Social media can be toxic especially when it is being used wrongly. It is always best to not believe “everything” the media puts out, and remember….

“We live in a world with fake news being put out there. You don’t know what to trust, and it’s a real danger to society.” –Austin Aries