One of my favorites is the story that Pepsi put the pledge of allegiance on a pop can but removed the words "Under God" from it as not to offend unbelievers. The story goes on to suggest that we not offend Pepsi with our money that also has the word God on it. The problem is the story isn't true.
So how did the story get started? In 2001, shortly after the 9-11 attacks, Dr Pepper produced a special can that said only "One Nation...Indivisible" with the goal of emphasizing our unity in the crisis. (More Here)
The kicker is that Dr Pepper is made by Coke, not Pepsi. How do these things get started? It's like the game of telephone. One person tells the next, who tells the next and so on. By the time it gets to the end, it's a whole new story. And there's always that one person in the middle that changes the story on purpose, just to make it more entertaining. Real gossip is like that too.
We have to consider our sources. Does this person really know what is going on? If I hear it twice, did they both get it from the same person and so it is still one source? Is what is being said even reasonable? Even if it could be true and the sources are reliable, IS IT ANY OF MY BUSINESS? That may be the big one right there. I have two friends that I know in different ways that both come from the same small town. Once I asked one if they knew the other. Their response was, it's a small town, you don't always know the people, just their business.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. - Exodus 20:16
I think this is a big deal today. When we click share, when we forward, we are now the source of the information. It is now our credibility at stake. It is our responsibility to be sure it is true. Somehow it doesn't feel the same but it is. Most people would say that creating a lie about someone is a bad thing. Telling information that may or may not be true is no better.
Don't believe everything that you hear and don't repeat it either.
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