Practicing Accuracy

Hi, there, content-creators! Today I want to put in a plug for accuracy in your content.

Now, I assume you’re not lying, but there are a lot of ways to be inaccurate without lying. You could be honestly wrong. Or the truth could be irrelevant—the point of a joke is to be funny, not to inform, so an inaccurate joke isn’t exactly a lie. Same usually goes for metaphors and heart-warming stories. Recently, my social media has filled up with stories of Peyton Manning’s kindness. They all seem to come from the same page, but various friends are sharing these things, and nobody seems to care whether they are true because they are heart-warming, it’s a good message, and he’s a good guy, right?

Then there’s content that purports to be the truth, except no proof is provided, so we’re just supposed to take the author’s word for it. For example, has my social media really “filled up” with Peyton Manning, or am I exaggerating? You don’t know. Should you care?

Yes, you should. It might not matter whether I’ve stumbled upon one Peyton Manning story or fifty this past week. And it might not matter whether any one of those stories specifically is true (I have heard that he is a kind and generous person in general). But being in the habit of caring about the truth does matter.

Some jokes hide cruelty or ignorance.

Some metaphors are misleading because they are based on misunderstanding.

Some things that “everybody knows” are false.

And sometimes being in the habit of letting things slide because they sound good allows actual, deliberate, consequential lies to spread.

So what I’m saying is let’s practice different habits. When we make statements of fact, we should say where that fact comes from so other people can decide whether to believe it. We shouldn’t expect other people to just take our word for things. This is the standard at the heart of science (a statement of fact that I make based on my experience getting a master of science degree), a strict differentiation between what is known and what is not known. Scientists cite their sources. I’m not saying that every cute story needs to have a complete reference section like it’s somebody’s dissertation or something, just that if we all get in the habit of paying more attention to what’s true and what isn’t, we’ll be better at critical thinking when it counts.

And content creators can lead the way by role-modeling.

When you make a statement of fact, say where the fact comes from. Add a link, if you can. It’s a good way to double-check yourself, too, to make sure you’re not misremembering whatever it is.

Just for practice.