The problem with misinformation and deliberately created fake news is a serious issue. It causes social divides, encourages people to engage in violence and has many other serious consequences. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that misinformation spreads much faster than factual information This is because it is created deliberately to appeal to people’s confirmation biases and tends to be more sensational. At one point Anand Mahindra shared something very much like fake news – and now it seems as though he is a victim of it as well.
It is usually something that favours one or another political party, or something ‘inspiring’ that this passed off as having been said by someone famous or successful. These are common types of misinformation that gain traction because of the famous name involved. Here a quote criticising Indian men as well as politicians was ascribed to Anand Mahindra who swiftly disowned it along with a couple of memes.
While some urged Mahindra to ignore such people and concentrate on his work, others encouraged him to initiate legal action against the possible miscreants.
Because what better way to get a point across than to use memes! It would be quite a surprise for a famous person to come across a ‘quote’ ascribed to them, which they had never uttered.
They agreed with the quote, not with the source of the quote.
Some feel that it is important not to even acknowledge something like this, because it is like giving the creators of misinformation precisely what they want.
Fake news and misinformation are very serious issues with very real consequences. Ignoring is not the solution – it has to be called out and debunked.
The fact is that a lot of people simply take any quote and ascribe it to someone famous or wise. For instance, there are several quotes doing the rounds that are supposed to have been said by, say, Gandhi or Einstein… or in this case Abraham Lincoln who lived and died in the 19th century.
These people are no longer around to say ‘I never said that’. So the fake quotes end up getting shared and re-shared and slowly, fiction becomes fact.
Paresh Rawal in this scene is an apt meme for every person who wants to debunk quotes falsely attributed to them
Anyone can create any kind of content on the net – and that is why it is important to do this before sharing anything: do the THINK test. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Important? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? If it passes these tests, it is Ok to forward. Otherwise, avoid forwarding it. Who knows, someone influential like Anand Mahindra may decide to take legal action for a falsely attributed quote!
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