The Web was abuzz last week when a blog posted a supposed receipt showing a 1% tip on a $133.54 bill with the words "get a real job" directed toward the waiter/waitress. Well after publishing a story, featuring the story on their show, and receiving millions of hits, comments, and beratement toward the supposed banker, Trending Now reveals that the receipt was a hoax, backed up by the real receipt from the restaurant and insistence that no one on their staff had done it.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/banker-1-tip-hoax-real-receipt-obtained-195827093.html
Now it's not that big of a deal. It's nothing to get too worked up about...and there's nothing to really feel sorry for if you were one of the thousands jumping on the bandwagon against this made-up banker.
BUT it's a bit of a depressing symbol of our eagerness to be angry about something, our need to prove that we are better than others, even when we have no idea who that other person is or if what that person did really happened.
I guess I just find it funny...A media outlet publishes a story, the government releases some data, or some big company releases a study and millions upon millions immediately declare it's fake, untrue, a lie, or meant to make money for the big-wigs and politicians. Yet, some random guy posts a receipt on a blog and it's immediately the biggest "call-to-arms" the 99% could hope for, with no question as to it's validity, even by something like Trending Now.
Let's try to view all stories with the same skepticism, especially if it supports your ideas. After all, you're much more likely to believe something if you agree with it, despite what you know or don't know about the actual information.
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