You may have heard about Orson Welles’ moving War of the Worlds broadcast, of 1938, where the Mercury Theatre on the Air enacted a Martian invasion of Earth, convincing nearly a million people alien invaders were destroying the United States! The panic inspired by Welles made War of the Worlds perhaps the most notorious event in American broadcast history. The United States experienced a kind of mass hysteria that we’ve never seen before.
Also, a popular children’s story shows us a mirror image of how we react to unsupported news:
“The sky is falling, Turkey Lurkey.” “How do you know, Henny Penny? “Chicken Little told me. “How do you know, Chicken Little?” “I saw it with my eyes. I heard it with my ears. Some of it fell on my tail.” Turkey Lurkey said, “We will run. We will run and tell” . . . everyone on Face Book and the Internet!
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)
Two of the devil’s most used tools against man are falsehood and fear! Do not help him to spread these!
A gentle reminder, not every report you read on FB is true. Be careful not to help agents of fear by repeating things not verified somehow. If we cannot verify, we would be wise to not share.
