The Troubles of Miscaptioning
In 2016, a protest took place outside of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, or UWM. On this particular day at UWM, Donald Trump was hosting a Fox News event. This particular protest was intended to be peaceful, but it turned bad when someone began stomping the American flag, which left many angry, as it was a disrespectful gesture to Americans. "A FOX6 News crew estimated there to be about 70 to 100 protesters on hand outside the theatre. Most were a part of the group #WeLove, which was started on Facebook. An exchange occurred Sunday after a protester was seen stomping on an American flag outside the theatre" (FOX 6 Milwaukee, 2016).
The picture of the people standing/stomping on the flag recently resurfaced. "On 2 November 2018, a social media user shared a photograph to the 'Bill O'Reilly Fans' Facebook group that supposedly depicted a scene in which 'migrants in the Guatemalan Caravan stand on, and then urinate on, U.S. flag before throwing it in the trash can'" (Evon, 2018). After careful evaluation and investigation, the Facebook post was found to be completely miscaptioned. This particular picture and event happened a few years prior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, not anywhere outside of the United States. This picture also does not show anyone urinating on the American flag.
The resurfacing and miscaptioning of this picture show exactly why viewers should always do further research on events and try to use the most reliable and trustworthy resources.
References:
Evon, D. (2018, November 6). Does This Photograph Show a Migrant Caravan Member Urinating on the U.S. Flag?Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/caravan-urinate-flag-photo/
FOX 6 Milwaukee. (2016, April 3). “Makes Me Sick:” Protester Seen Stomping on American Flag Outside Trump Town Hall at UWM [Text.Article]. Associated Press; FOX6 News Milwaukee | Wisconsin & Local Milwaukee News WITI. https://www.fox6now.com/news/makes-me-sick-protester-seen-stomping-on-american-flag-outside-trump-town-hall-at-uwm
It's definitely scary to think about how many people probably saw that and took it at face-value. There are so many scenarios like this one that often go unnoticed, and fake news has had a huge impact on American politics in the last couple of years. I do think it's a bit ironic that conservatives, who lack trust in journalism/the media the most, seem to be just as prone to falling for fake news as liberals.
ReplyDeleteI think it's extremely important for people to do further research on political posts before sharing them. Especially on Facebook. Just a year ago I saw a post circulating showing Biden kneeling. The caption claimed he was kneeling during the national anthem and, of course, I didn't believe it. Research showed he was actually kneeling for a picture so that the camera could see the people behind him. It's alarming to see so many people believing a lot of false information we see online without doing their own research.
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