Why netizens can’t always believe in everything they read online

CEBU, Philippines - There’s an inside joke/“golden rule” computer technicians are liable to ascribe to as they go about their days, one which runs along the lines of “90% of computer problems can be found in between the chair and the keyboard.”

Though the said inside joke/“golden rule” doesn’t exactly have anything to do in explaining why netizens can’t believe everything they read online, its core pretext as an informal parody “guideline” for computer technicians bears some weight in explaining the reasons why netizens just can’t take everything that is posted in the net at face value.

In a time when anyone with access to the net and the tech know-how is in the position to be the head honcho of his or her own online media conglomerate, the working concept behind the online proliferation of “questionable stories” has become more defined, with such bits of information finding their way into different online avenues for communication and interaction – from social networks to email inboxes – deeming their circulation as the most obvious reason why it’s a bad idea to always gobble up every bit of information that’s propped up in the net without asking any questions.

Though it has to be said that not everything in the net is a pack of big fat lies, one can’t help but peg hoax stories of celebrities passing away (recent examples of which would include the “death stories” of Jackie Chan, Chris Brown, Jon Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber) as good reasons why it pays to be wary about what’s being said in cyberspace.

If the online proliferation of questionable stories of celebrity deaths is not reason enough for netizens not to always believe in everything they read in the net, here are two more.

On websites and standing out  in the net

Students learning how to make websites are often told by instructors that the easy part in the making of a website can be found in the part where they compile – where they make – the site itself.

The really hard part comes in getting people to actually visit the site on a regular basis.

With virtually millions upon millions of webpages populating the net, webmasters, content creators and online content managers are constantly at their wits’ end in doing what they can in raking in as much page views possible, implementing all sorts of techniques, strategies and tactics that are calibrated and formulated to bring attentions their way.

Since more page views and higher page view rankings tend to translate to better advertising prospects and potentials for a given website, the driving force that pushes for the publication of “questionable stories” isn’t all that difficult to define, just as finding sites that are simply devoted to cater to what people want to hear – and not basing their overall being on real information – can be given more reason to thrive.

While not all websites gain their respective page views by hurling factual information into oblivion (there are a number of credible and reliable websites up and about after all) the driving force in standing out in the net tends to be one of the causative factors why netizens can’t afford to always believe in everything that’s being said in cyberspace.

On irony, parody, spoofs and satire

Last year, word of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg calling it quits and planning to shut down Facebook went viral, coercing many into downloading all the content they’ve uploaded on their Facebook accounts, in an effort not to lose precious Facebook-stored archives of photographs and videos.

While many were busy archiving their Facebook-uploaded stuff into hard drives, it took a moment’s pause for concerned netizens to eventually realize that the online “news” of Facebook’s shutdown came from Weekly World News, the publication-cum-website that is famous for its take on aliens, Bigfoot and Elvis sightings stories.

In May this year, a story entitled “The 8 Worst-Dressed At The Papal Conclave” was published by The Onion online, raking in mixed reactions from those who came by the story.

Those who were aware of the fact that The Onion is an American satire news organization got the “joke”, while those who took the story seriously at face value found themselves staring at what could be described as the strangest “red carpet treatment” slideshow for an occasion.

Just as there are credible news agencies making a name and reputation for themselves in the net, there are online entities that thrive by featuring stories that are steeped in irony, parody and satire – with some even making a name for themselves by focusing on hoaxes.

A healthy sense of humor is noted to be effective in helping netizens weed out real news from the “joke news” variety – whose existence in cyberspace is also one reason why netizens can’t take everything online at face value