Most days it seems to run 20%-30% and other days it seems to run almost 90%. It’s so unpredictable (and unreliable) that I tend to think maybe nobody should check
Facebook for any facts.
Clint Eastwood said … the Second Amendment guarantees … the UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute dictates … $2,025 writing instruments … 10,150 immigrant killings… Schiff’s daughter’s boyfriend …
… and millions of other memes, quotes, pictures, videos and the like are shared every minute of every day with nothing but blatantly false/misleading information.
As our graphic above suggests, I think the major culprit is basically “low levels of critical thinking and news literacy.” Just sharing or posting something doesn’t make it true, and just because it supports your position and/or thinking doesn’t make it true.
As we pointed out a few months ago, maybe all auctioneers are looking for is affirmation, rather than information? We wrote about that here: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/auctioneers-information-versus-affirmation/.
Google isn’t a bad place to search contrasted with Facebook — as long as you look at search results which don’t merely confirm your prior premise. For that matter, you could conceivably ask yourself, “Does this make any sense?”
Possibly the most important consideration is the source. If it’s a known “fake news” or comedy/satirical site (which you can Google to find out) then it’s very likely the information is unreliable. On Facebook, I’ve learned that certain Facebook-friends of mine routinely share fake news, thus they are the source.
Finally, what’s the potential issue here? People look at Facebook before they hire an auctioneer and if they see a timeline filled with fake/nonsensical posts, they are very likely to hire someone else.
It’s not hard to avoid this problem … post thoughtful researched information or — maybe don’t post anything. You see, when you routinely mix false and true information together on the same platform, how do I know when you are being truthful? I don’t and in fact, nobody does.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and America’s Auction Academy. He is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by the The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
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