A photo of a man holding a sign with an ironic misspelling at an anti-vaccine protest has gone viral, but he’s not actually an anti-vaccination protester. Let’s take a look at the facts.
NewsLit takeaway
Satire is notoriously difficult to recognize online. In fact, as this TruthorFiction.com fact-check about the “scietists” counter-protester points out, it’s an example of an internet axiom called Poe’s Law which holds that “a parody of something extreme can be mistaken for the real thing, and if a real thing sounds extreme enough, it can be mistaken for a parody.” Also, while this sign is authentic, it’s good to keep in mind that protest signs are easy targets for photo manipulation that misrepresents a group or cause.
- “Counter-demonstrator uses satire in support of science at hospital protests” (Caryn Ceolin, 680 News).
- “‘I Know More Than the Scietists’ Protester” (Kim LaCapria, TruthorFiction.com).
NLP’s viral rumor rundown is a regular feature in The Sift, its weekly email newsletter for educators, and in Get Smart About News, its weekly email newsletter for the general public. You can subscribe to these newsletters here. Send suggestions, questions or feedback on this rumor or on the viral rumor rundown blog to thesift@newslit.org.
