David Brown
The most important lesson I’ve ever learned about reporting came on the first day of Jay Linksman’s Journalism 101 class in 1980, when I was in the 10th grade at Twin Lakes High School in south Florida.
There were about 30 students in the elective class. Before even making introductions, Mr. Linksman was already in midseason teaching mode. He whispered what we later learned was a relatively simple paragraph into the ear of the first person in the front row. That person then whispered it only to the person behind them, who whispered it to the person behind them, until everybody in the room had a chance to both hear the message and pass it on.
Remember the early 1980s commercial where actress Heather Locklear, with shampoo still in her wet hair, promised to tell her friends about Faberge Organics, who would tell their friends, and so on and so on? That’s exactly what happened over the next several minutes, as students anxiously awaited their turn.
My desk was second from the end. By the time the paragraph was told to me, there was little to no resemblance of the original statement. There was still a small shred of truth to what was shared, but the words had lost more accuracy every time they were shared, causing the overall message to be massacred.
The lesson learned was journalists should never rely on secondhand, thirdhand or – God forbid – even worse information. The farther you get away from the source, the more truth is lost.
If you use social media, you’ve probably read something without considering where it came from and nonchalantly passed it on with a, “Hey, have you heard about …?” That person likely did the same with someone else who, sans shampoo, told their friends about it and so on.
On Nov. 10, @MisterCiv on the X platform posted this while watching a Detroit Lions football game: “INTERESTING. This is now (quarterback) Jared Goff’s 7th career game with at least 4 interceptions. His record in those games? 6-0. Does Goff have the (Houston) Texans right where he wants them?”
The following day, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was making his weekly appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show when that seemingly incredible statistic came up.
“Amazing stat, though, is this a true stat?” Rodgers asked while discussing the Lions game. “That (Goff) has done four or more picks seven times, and he’s won every single one of those games?”
“Yes,” McAfee said without hesitation.
“That’s wild. I mean, that’s why stats are for – what did Big Mike used to say?” Rodgers asked.
“Stats are for losers,” AJ Hawk chimed in, not aware of the irony.
None of the popular show’s producers bothered to fact-check the numbers. We know that because @MisterCiv was back a day later to set the record straight on X.
“If you’ve ever wondered how easy it is to spread fake information,” Civ said, “I made this stat up while laying in bed at halftime of the game.”
His original post generated 11,000 likes, was shared 980 times and reached more than 1.9 million users. The follow-up post received even more attention thanks to the show, with 63,000 likes and 5,500 shares while reaching 10 million.
McAfee’s response: “Oh no.”
Rodgers, who is well known for being a bit of a conspiracy theorist and telling people to “do your own research,” at least questioned whether the stat was real when it first came up. But, like so many, he was quick to go along with it during the discussion.
This incident was about sports, so nobody got anything hurt but perhaps their feelings. However, when you consider how the same sort of thing is infecting education, health, news, politics and science, it’s not a laughing matter – it’s deadly serious, as people have lost their lives based on lies.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution to our world’s digital dumbness.
“You know how this issue is solved?” X user @PlatosGooncave posted. “You either unfollow, mute or block people who knowingly spread false information.”
Mr. Linksman would undoubtedly agree.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 828-837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on X @daviddBstroh.