When Elites Are Caught Spreading Fake News, SNOPES Rides in to Clear Them of Guilt for Misinformation – Opinion

The scamming of fact-checkers is clearly on display, as SNOPES does not use facts to alter a narrative.

There is a possibility that you have seen a meme about a book list shared on social media in the last few days. This meme purports show the titles currently banned by Florida. This is an unattributed, lengthy list that doesn’t have any source from an official agency.

All claims that Florida has prohibited books are false. It is due to the controversy that has surrounded Ron DeSantis’ state and the numerous classroom standards he established. Certain titles that are restricted to younger readers is the closest thing you’ll find to a ban on books. This is no more of a “ban” than a film being Rated-R and restricting ages under 18 from purchasing a ticket is evidence of a movie being censored.

This list was nevertheless shared, with verified accounts. Randi Weingarten of the US teachers union shared this list, despite it being a complete lack of credibility. Randi Weingarten, a woman who ought to know more about these matters than any other person, was content to simply regurgitate random memes from the internet. 

This is just the beginning of the deception was actor Mark Hamill. His post, while not being an authoritative voice by any stretch of the imagination was shared many thousands of times. Twitter still hasn’t attached its flag to misleading information, even though it is a very recent post. These are the exact type of items one would expect fact-checkers will be looking at. This would appear to be a serious threat to democracy if you add a dose of political disinformation that’s misleading scores of people. 

However, fact-checkers find themselves in a difficult situation. This false narrative is being spread by the left. It is not possible to compare a Hollywood actor and union rep with the evil right-leaning figures who seek to undermine this country’s foundations through distributing misleading, false information. What can be done to approach this without questioning their character?

The solution: This was all just a joke!

SNOPES made the announcement that the satire was a joke and that the statewide school regulations were misunderstood. It is an extremely weak summary. To start, Governor Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary Bryan Griffin noted that not only is there not a book ban in the state, but some of the titles on the featured list are actually recommended by the FLDOE.

“The image is fake — as far as I see it, this is just a completely fictitious list made by people potentially living in an alternate reality,” Griffin stated. “Some of the listed books are specifically mentioned in Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards.”

Then there is the grade from SNOPES that the list “originated” as satire. It is completely false. Freesus Patriot is the account that created the list. That source initially supported the factual nature of the list once it was distributed via platforms. They claimed that the list was provided to them by a source, however they were protecting their source. 

After the officials raised challenges, it was revealed that the shifting was just satirical. Since it is claimed that this was intended only as satire and no defense is necessary, there is no need to correct or take down the facts. SNOPES is happy to play along. This account claims to be a satire web site and has changed their bio.

This isn’t the problem with Freesus Patriot. They have the freedom to release whatever they wish. But when notable accounts such as Weingarten’s are spreading false claims like this without the barest amount of introspection you have to deeply question their position of leadership. Then, when SNOPES is willing to come in behind and provide cleanup for the sake of her and others’ character, it exposes the entire enterprise.

It is difficult for a fact-checking organization to claim the source of this list, when they were not willing to even investigate until embarrassment was experienced by those mentioned accounts. SNOPES claims the post was shared “Later, however, the satirical marks were removed.” No, it was not. The account was initially defending the list as truthful, and even challenged the governor’s office to prove the list was not accurate. 

Then there is the whole issue with the “satire” gambit. This is the fact-checking website that allowed you to evaluate the matter. ActualBabylon Bee’s satire website, but it ignored that reason and rated all posts by the humor site FALSE. Arguments that gag entries were intended to trick people, or were accurate enough to warrant the False label were made.

Now, when presented with a pure case of intended deception – and one that has actually deceived multitudes of people – SNOPES is willing to dismiss that activity as just a joke all along, with no negative intention applied. This fact-check has been rated as: GABAGE

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