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Rant: My cousin said 'nobody fact checks memes' at Thanksgiving and I still think about it
Last Thanksgiving at my aunt's place in Toledo, my cousin Dave argued that the viral claim '97% of climate scientists agree' was made up by the media, so I pulled up the actual 2013 study by John Cook on my phone right at the dinner table. He glanced at it for two seconds and said 'nobody fact checks memes, man' before passing the mashed potatoes. I've been breaking down bad takes online for 6 years now, and that moment taught me more about why false claims spread than any article I've read. The real problem isn't that people can't find the source, it's that they don't care once they've decided the vibe feels true. Has anyone else run into a family member who just shrugs off the actual evidence like that?
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pat_murray533h ago
Idk man, is it really that deep though? Your cousin didn't wanna argue about climate studies at Thanksgiving dinner, that seems pretty normal to me. People just wanna eat turkey and watch football, not everyone treats dinner like a debate club.
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