Fact-checking is meaningless if
People have no respect for facts.
Just watch social media and you
Will see how the public reacts

To natural disasters or shootings.
Conspiracy theories quickly abound
And suddenly the Internet is
An informational battleground.

Knowing the truth no longer gives us
A feeling of calm or a sense of relief,
Since few people have an incentive
For altering a false belief.

Experts say our psychological
Weaknesses are targets for those
Who spread misinformation for
Ideological ends. These pros

Know how to use the media well.
Their credibility's merely a ruse.
And suddenly the falsehoods are
Amplified all over the news.

Hacks and kooks and fringe group crazies
Have been around forever; it's true.
If there's a chance to spread their lies,
They do not miss a cue.

Fringe groups going mainstream. Yikes!
That's a recipe for disaster,
Especially when a gullible public
Eats up the nonsense faster and faster.

Orwell's 1984
For many years made us wary.
The year twenty seventeen
Is also looking ****** scary.

-by Bob B (9-3-17)