You know, there is a lot to dislike about the tumblr website, but I think that one of the things I find the MOST honestly distasteful is the constant cycle of:
1. Somebody makes a post, with a made-up "fun fact," or just mistakenly incorrect information about possums, that is ultimately harmless. Maybe they do it on purpose (for "notes," for attention, for money, whatever). Maybe they just misinterpreted information and made an honest mistake.
It's always something vaguely plausible and entirely surface-level believable about a butterfly species that doesnt really exist, an atmospheric anomaly that doesn't really happen (but SOUNDS like it totally could), or a historical fact/event that someone made up.
2. People read that post and comment on it, believe it, reblog it, etc.
3. The post is inevitably debunked multiple times.
4. A thousand rude-ass cockroaches crawl out of the woodwork to rant about how GULLIBLE and STUPID and CARELESS everyone is to have been DUPED by such FLAGRANTLY INCORRECT INFORMATION and you're all such MALICIOUS IDIOTS for PURPOSELY SPREADING LIES and on and on and on.
Just, why? What harm has been done?? We find out that some plausible, vague, ultimately untrue post was actually bullshit, ta-da, nobody reblogs it anymore, and we MOVE ON.
For example, this post about " particular water ions" in the ocean that interact with our brain chemistry. Somebody finds the post, who is not well-versed in the intricacies of chemistry, and thinks "wow, cool!" And reblogs it.
Maybe they google it later and find out is was bullshit!!! Maybe they don't!!! It Super Duper doesn't matter that this person didn't know enough about chemistry to know off the bat that it was incorrect information!!!
Why on earth would they suspect that somebody would go to the trouble of making a fake post about WATER IONS?
Most people don't automatically assume that everyone on the internet is constantly making up bullshit for some unknown reason. Nobody is stupid or naive for assuming that everybody else on the planet isn't personally out to get them, and they're not gullible because they don't automatically race to extensively fact-check every fun-fact thay somebody posts about koalas.
By all means, fact-checking Big Posts (info posts about natural disasters, ecological situations, political actions and protest coverage, news, donation links, accusations of crime, etc.) is a great practice and is very important for people trying to get their news or help out with a bad situation through the internet (maybe tumblr isn't the most useful place to be conducting that kinda business, but that's another post).
But getting pissy because people aren't expending their energy to dive down a rabbit hole over the healthiest beta fish tank arrangements before they reblog a fun post from somebody who seems reputable at first glance? That's just vindictive and childish.
Don't lash out at others just because they're not using the internet the way you want them to. Also, don't rip into people who honestly didnt know better and were trying to spread a Big Post that they thought had accurate information. They were just trying to help, there's no need to be cruel.
If you're expecting everybody who spends their leisure time surfing a cutesy blogging site on the internet to be constantly researching and double-checking every inconsequential post on their dashboard, you're going to be very disappointed. Frankly, nobody else is particularly outraged that Some Guy On The Internet made a random fake post and they got tricked into reading a fake funny story about Will Smith. If we realize we were Had, we just say "oh well," and get on with scrolling.
Nobody is making huge, impactful decisions based on a fake story about somebody who did something funny at comic con 10 years ago. Let it go. They will, in all probability, eventually find out that whatever they reblogged was fake anyways. Their misconception will most likely be corrected by time. Just move on and find yourself some REAL facts about koalas if it really matters that much.
