Social Media and Truth

I have failed you all.  I realized that while I was out fighting evil, I failed to properly equip you for your own battles. More specifically, understanding social media and how it allows us to gain knowledge in faith. I call this weapon of battling the Social Media Sword of Truth!!! Be very careful with how it is used, for it is a double-edged sword.  If it is not used correctly it can have the opposite affect. All you need to do is keep reading if you want to learn how to use this super-hero weapon and cut straight to the truth.

Social Media Sword of Truth Power-ups!

1. Identify fact vs. opinion
2. Learn the difference between a journalist and a ranter
3. Use social media for faith not fiction

When I am not out fighting crime, I study journalism in college. The first thing I learned is that everyone is a journalist. However, There is a difference between a good one and a bad one.

Journalism 101

To better understand lets look back to the 20th century when journalism was still known as the fourth estate of government. Journalists used to by the catalyst between the government and the people. Most notably, they reported on the Vietnam War scandal that got Nixon impeached. What ever a journalist said was the truth and the truth had power.

Then the internet came along and information became more available. In 2004, boom! Facebook crawled out of the dark depths of Zuckerburg's mind.  Twitter followed two years later. Suddenly, the internet suffered from information overload.

 Facebook and Twitter did more than connect people; it connected websites and ideas into one network. People post thoughts and videos and others can comment and blog freely about them. Do you have any idea what this means for Catholicism? Everyone is free to attack and make bold claims against it while we sit and take it. Even when we try to make a statement, they follow up with the "quit shoving religion down my throat" line. This literally makes me laugh because of how often I see it. The only thing I will be shoving down your throat is a roundhouse kick to the face!

Approved by Chuck Norris

Blast to the Past

I don't think you realize just how big of a deal wide distribution of information is. To help you, here is a look into history when information got the better of the Catholic Church. We are now in the 1500s, around the time when Martin Luther put his 95 theses on the church doors. 

Martin Luther

The printing press was also invented by Gutenberg around this time. The printing press allowed for hundreds of thousands of book to be copied, mainly the bible. Martin Luther emphasized that the bible was the only source of faith. Now, everyone can read the bible and interpret it how they wanted. What widespread information does it put religion in the hands of uneducated men.

Ranters Are a Journalists Worst Enemy

Here is an example of a rant:

"This whole KONY thing is a great cause & all, but maybe America should deal with some of the hate crimes taking place on it's own land before we try to save the day elsewhere."

For educational purposes I am going to change it into a factual claim:

"The Obama Administration has made plenty of efforts to stop hate crimes here in America. For example, the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law that was passed in September. Or, the Respect for Marriage Act that Obama  supported. All this effort by the government and I still haven't seen much effort on our part. Maybe American citizens should focus on what effects them instead of what effects those in Africa."

See the difference? A rant is scary. It is an opinion in the disguise of useful information. Factual claims have an opinion and facts to support those claims. Anyone who says "not allowing abortion is immoral towards women" immediately loses the right to say it if they fail to provide evidence.

Truth VS. Rant

Truth vs. rant is like a battle between God and the Devil; Truth always wins. Steve Colbert dubbed it as "truthiness"- a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively "from the gut." 

There isn't anything wrong with having an opinion. It is impossible for a journalist to be unbiased. However, it is just as important to report both sides as it is to support what you say. I love to give people a good smack down by proving them wrong as well as proving I am right.

The use of social media can totally be used to your advantage. The next time you see a post about how wrong it is to not provide contraceptive services or how many boys a priest may have molested, unsheathe your sword. Learn what is true and what is not, report the facts, and destroy all fiction!