THAT INTERNET! (A WCHL Commentary)

Do you remember that old saw that says, “a lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boot on?” Well in this Internet age, I’m changing it to “Internet falsehoods are all over the World Wide Web before the truth can even boot up and login!”

What brought this home to me recently was that an acquaintance that always has something to say about Chapel Hill being so liberal called me to say that he heard that the University had banned Christmas trees. I asked him where he heard that and he said it was all over the Interned and he had heard a particular commentator on Fox News claim that the university was guilty of political correctness run amuck, fueling much Internet discussion.

I told my caller that the chancellor indicated that displaying Christmas trees was up to the various departments and not a university policy. I also told my caller that his grasp of this issue was another perfect example of how stuff gets manipulated on the Internet, and talk radio to satisfy their agenda. Accuracy and truth don’t count for much.

Then I asked him if he knew that two UNC students had just won Rhodes Scholarships, or that our Women’s Soccer Team had just won the NCAA Championship and our men’s team was in the playoffs for the national championship. Of course he hadn’t heard these things. Why is that? I guess the real truths just don’t get around much anymore.