Increasingly, as I see some popular meme spreading like wildfire through the social media forest I’m suspicious of its intent…
- Is that random person asking if women would rather be stranded in the woods with a man or a bear really interested in provoking a mass thought exercise in gender politics or is it the Chinese government using TikTok to fervent discord to further divide us into Team Man and Team Bear?
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Is that thread asking me to reply with a picture of myself at 18 (or 21, or from 1977, or…) really just for fun or am I training an AI for facial recognition to ultimately be used against me?
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Is the movement to write in “uncommitted” on the ballot really a progressive grassroots effort about sending a message regarding my country’s response to a war or is it an attempt to influence a major election?
My point being is that we should all be asking such questions in today’s day and age. We have copious examples from our last two (at least) major US elections that similar tactics were used and the results were impressive/devastating. We’ve obviously learned nothing about being suspicious of the things we see, especially on social media, and not immediately calling into question the source and the intent.
This is why I generally refuse to participate in such things online. Perhaps doing the same is worth your consideration. At the very least, think through the “what if” when you do.