I generally find most of the various Fact Checker sites pretty informative, but one recent situation left me wondering if one "Fact Checker" outfit was using not-very-intelligent AI to flag posts or if they were just using people with no social awareness and possibly no sense of humour.
It went like this. I saw, and posted, this meme, along with the caption "Welcome to Texas - Home of the American Taliban".
Most people I know will recognize the literary reference to The Handmaid's Tale. If you don't get it, best to stop reading this now, get a copy of Margaret Atwood's book and learn about it.
In any case, within hours, the Fact Checker vigilanties had flagged the meme as "False", stating that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders had, in fact, NOT changed uniforms. Well, Duh... was my response.
Definition of a meme: an amusing or interesting item, often humorous, not necessarily factual.
As for Texas (soon to be followed by Florida, according to some)....Do a Google search for "Texas the American Taliban". I did, and immediately (thanks Google) received dozens of articles saying exactly the same thing. A selection:
With Texas' Abortion Ban, Who are We to Judge the Taliban?
Texas Abortion Ban Prompts Taliban Comparisons
And in the pages of Salon, Texas Lawmaker Mocked for Odd Comparison.
Even Amazon had an appropriately designed mug.
I only wish the pseudo-boffins at Fact Check were even half as vigilant about flagging false information about the supposed dangers of vaccines, how COVID is no worse than the flu, that climate change is a hoax.... Flagging those posts would perhaps give them something useful to do.
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