Just the Facts

In the classic police drama “Dragnet,” Sergeant Joe Friday (portrayed by the late Jack Webb) implored informants, “All we want are the facts.” Parodies have paraphrased this to where many believe Friday frequently said, “Just the facts, ma’am.” The truth is he never uttered that exact phrase on radio or TV. However, it was used to promote the 1987 movie “Dragnet” and as the title of an authorized biography of Jack Webb.

As stated before in this blog, I refuse to pass on chain letters. They often contain outdated or inaccurate information. A new one that’s appeared in my Facebook news feed is Tim Tebow warning us about the government preparing us for a cashless society. I don't believe Tim wrote this. It resembles a meme falsely attributed to another well-known Christian. 

For years, a prayer request has circulated with Joyce Meyer’s name attached to it. It claims twenty churches got burned down in an Indian province called Olisabang. There are no provinces in India. They have states and districts. None of which is named Olisabang. Joyce Meyer Ministries has confirmed that the message did not come from her.

During the last year, fact-checkers have gotten a negative reputation. Some have tried suppressing information about the 2020 election and the coronavirus. That doesn’t mean we should dismiss non-partisan fact-checkers like truthorfction.com (a website I often refer to). So before sharing a meme or story sent to you, please take a few seconds to verify its legitimacy. There’s too much fake news going around as it is. Would you like it if people claimed you wrote something that wasn’t true?

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” - Exodus 20:16

Seek and Speak the Truth

During this election season, many are quick to believe every negative report about the candidates they don’t want to win. A few of my Facebook friends have shared a post claiming vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said, “American churches are propaganda centers for intolerant homophobic, xenophobic vitriol.” Many fact-checking sites are calling this a false statement. I couldn't find an article confirming she said this.

One Christian musician that was a Facebook friend posted the questionable quote on her wall. A friend of hers even claimed to have heard Harris say that. I wrote a comment asking when and where that happened. The musician accused me of being “rude” and blocked me. Wanting to remain on friendly terms with her, I sent an email via her website explaining my intent to verify the truthfulness of this statement. She responded by saying the Lord showed her this in her dreams and “…the Deep State already took it down.” I still have my doubts but won’t challenge someone who insists the Lord told them something unless it goes against Scripture.

Another quote going around attributed to Kamala Harris is her saying, “And once Trump’s gone and we have regained our rightful place in the White House, look out if you supported him and endorsed his actions because we’ll be coming for you next. You will feel the vengeance of a nation.” I found out this statement originated last year from a satirical site!

Certainly, I’m not endorsing Kamala Harris (I’ve already voted for the Trump-Pence ticket via absentee ballot). Nevertheless, believers shouldn’t be sharing hearsay. In the past, I’ve posted stuff online that was later discovered to be hoaxes and removed them. It should also be clarified that I don’t believe every fact-checking website (particularly those Facebook uses to censor posts regarding COVID-19). There are ones I trust like truthorfiction.com. Despite its purported liberal bias, even Snopes has correctly identified certain stories as e-rumors.

As Christians, we should be seeking and speaking the truth instead of being talebearers. No one is helped by circulating false stories.

“A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.” 

- Proverbs 16:28 (NLT)