by Christina Yeager | Guest Contributor | SOCIAL SABOTAGE, PRIVACY CONCERNS
Every week there’s another hoax post that fuels outrage on the Web. We’re going to share them with you along with some lessons learned. It’s YOUR duty to spread the word, so that outraged folks can focus on the truly outrageous, like Madonna’s armpit hair.
This week, we’re focusing on those horrible sick child images that are everywhere online asking for prayers by way of likes and shares - and how you’re feeding a horrifying scam machine. Imagine for a second, if you will, that your son or daughter is having their teeth capped. Now, this little procedure calls for having your child put under for a bit. You decide to snap a photo of your “mini-me” and post it to your status. Three weeks later you are scrolling down your wall on Facebook when you come across your precious baby in that same exact image. But wait, it’s paired with the words “This child has cancer. Please like and share for prayers." Yes. That’s right. Your child’s picture has been lifted then recycled into the Social Media Hoax Circus. Stop sharing and liking images of sick children! You are not helping to get this child treatment or a heart transplant and no one (even Facebook) is going to donate a dollar for every like and share. Come on people! Wake up! These images were most likely stolen from a family album of a sick child weeks, months or even years ago. They’ve been thrown onto social media and laced with untrue words of illness and grief. And then…they invite you to share that! Why? No family member of an ailing child would ever ask you to do that.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |