# Dear Morons: VET YOUR GODDAMN SOURCES **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 15, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841 "2012-04-15T14:41:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/21 "2012-04-16T00:07:09Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > Whooooooosh! That’s the sound of a zamboni flying low over your head. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/22 "2012-04-16T01:19:06Z")
If a story fits in with one’s cherished and stubbornly held world-view, if often doesn’t matter how unreliable the source is, or even if good sources overwhelmingly debunk it. My favorite recent example comes from an online forum debate about health fraud and involves the website Quackwatch. A quackery apologist was attacking the founder of Quackwatch, Stephen Barrett M.D. as having been “de-licensed”, (in other words, that a regulatory body took away his medical license for some malfeasance or other). This is an untrue smear\*, which I took pains to refute (including a link to the Pennsylvania medical board website showing he still holds a medical license in good standing (on inactive status because Barrett is retired). The would-be smearer insisted she didn’t care, that other sources insisted his license had been taken away and that was good enough for her. \*you’ll find this nonsense repeated on alt med websites and by quackery promoters galore, even when they’ve been told it’s a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/23 "2012-04-16T02:11:53Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Cite? That’s interesting, since Hawaii wasn’t a state until 1959. > > Cite? > > Cite? > > That’s the trouble with birther arguments. They make up unsubstantiated rules and then complain when the evidence doesn’t fit them. :rolleyes: You made the same mistake I did… He’s parodying birthers with a REALLY fake certificate. Poe’s law, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/24 "2012-04-16T02:44:16Z")
It’s funny. I posted that just to be a smart ass. I really didn’t expect anybody to be whooshed. The thread itself is about taking a moment to think when you read something on the net to make sure that it is true. You don’t want to be taking something put on the net by the Onion or the Landover Baptist Church at face value, after all. I thought the link, which was the whole joke, would take care of that. The part of the OP I quoted even said, "make sure the source is _somewhat_ serious. I guess that didn’t happen here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/25 "2012-04-16T03:05:33Z")
Maybe you should have posted the link naked, like so: [http://deathby1000papercuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/spoof-obama-birth-certificate.jpg](http://deathby1000papercuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/spoof-obama-birth-certificate.jpg) Kinda sad that even on the SDMB that advice sometimes is appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/26 "2012-04-16T03:12:52Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > It’s funny. I posted that just to be a smart ass. I really didn’t expect anybody to be whooshed. The thread itself is about taking a moment to think when you read something on the net to make sure that it is true. You don’t want to be taking something put on the net by the Onion or the Landover Baptist Church at face value, after all. I thought the link, which was the whole joke, would take care of that. The part of the OP I quoted even said, "make sure the source is _somewhat_ serious. > > I guess that didn’t happen here. 🙂 No one is ever safe from Poe’s law. Edit: the “Also he is a US citizen!” is a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/27 "2012-04-16T03:17:10Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My peeve along these lines are the jerks who send out glurge with a line at the bottom - “Confirmed by Snopes!” No, it isn’t. I went to Snopes, and it was not confirmed. Not only are you forwarding stupid glurge, but you’re stupid and irresponsible, too. > > Hey, let’s start some really juicy stuff - if people read it on the internet, it must be true! About eight or 10 years ago, I was vacationing in the Rockies in a small town called Radium Hot Springs, and I saw a couple there together, obviously having an illicit weekend - the couple was Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Yes, I’ve seen that recently. I’m on the e-mail list of a distant cousin who sent me two of those last month. They seemed so unbelivable that I first checked them out on Factcheck and when Factcheck agreed with my common sense, I went to Snopes and they also denied the story. The “verified by Snopes” bit was a bald faced lie. I find this very BIG LIE like. I have my personal theory about the origin of these things, but I’ll hold until someone else says it. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/28 "2012-04-16T03:23:59Z")
Well, it’s a funny spoof. I love the Dr. Mike part. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/29 "2012-04-16T03:24:26Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Yes, I’ve seen that recently. I’m on the e-mail list of a distant cousin who sent me two of those last month. They seemed so unbelivable that I first checked them out on Factcheck and when Factcheck agreed with my common sense, I went to Snopes and they also denied the story. The “verified by Snopes” bit was a bald faced lie. > > I find this very BIG LIE like. I have my personal theory about the origin of these things, but I’ll hold until someone else says it. Do a “Reply All” on an email like that. Highlight the fake snopes disclaimer, and announce that that “disclaimer,” when unaccompanied by an actual link to snopes confirming the salient material, will be taken as a sign that it is bullshit. Then link to the actual snopes article debunking it, just to drive home the point. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/30 "2012-04-16T03:59:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Do a “Reply All” on an email like that. Highlight the fake snopes disclaimer, and announce that that “disclaimer,” when unaccompanied by an actual link to snopes confirming the salient material, will be taken as a sign that it is bullshit. > > Then link to the actual snopes article debunking it, just to drive home the point. You must still believe in Santa Claus if you think that this will have any effect. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/31 "2012-04-16T04:16:47Z")
Not really. I DO believe in passive-aggressiveness, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/32 "2012-04-16T04:18:29Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Yes, I’ve seen that recently. I’m on the e-mail list of a distant cousin who sent me two of those last month. They seemed so unbelivable that I first checked them out on Factcheck and when Factcheck agreed with my common sense, I went to Snopes and they also denied the story. The “verified by Snopes” bit was a bald faced lie. > > I find this very BIG LIE like. I have my personal theory about the origin of these things, but I’ll hold until someone else says it. Possibly even more irritating, I got a glurge email that had a quote from Snopes (partial and out of context) that they used to prove their point when the whole article in fact debunked it. What is your theory? I must not be feeling conspiracy-theoryist enough tonight. 🙂 > [@beowulff](#): > > You must still believe in Santa Claus if you think that this will have any effect. Yup. Those who want to believe in fairy tales will always find a way. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/33 "2012-04-16T13:03:07Z")
[I found kind of a negative-OP story this morning](http://news.yahoo.com/norway-killer-admits-massacre-claims-self-defense-093445452.html). The fruitcake Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik had his first day in court today. He killed 77 people, many of them children, and he’s claiming self-defense. AP felt the need to go dig up a Norwegian legal expert on self-defense to refute this. His contribution to the story – “It is obvious that it has nothing to do with preventive self-defense.” Ya think? Seriously, if they’re going to go find somebody with those credentials, at least flesh out some more details with examples of other cases where the defense has been tried and either succeeded or failed. But even more seriously, who the fuck needs an explanation that the claim is total bullshit, other than the jury? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/34 "2012-04-16T13:28:44Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > [I found kind of a negative-OP story this morning](http://news.yahoo.com/norway-killer-admits-massacre-claims-self-defense-093445452.html). The fruitcake Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik had his first day in court today. He killed 77 people, many of them children, and he’s claiming self-defense. Let’s take a lesson from the Martin/Zimmerman case and wait until all the facts are in before forming any opinions. It’s entirely possible that Breivik was merely following each of the 77 to keep an eye on them—which is his right under the law—and one by one, each of them turned and attacked him, leaving him no choice but to use deadly force. He’s probably as upset as anyone that it had to turn out that way. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/35 "2012-04-16T13:51:19Z")
Yes, and the building he blew up was also about to lunge at him. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/36 "2012-04-16T13:53:59Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Let’s take a lesson from the Martin/Zimmerman case and wait until all the facts are in before forming any opinions. It’s entirely possible that Breivik was merely following each of the 77 to keep an eye on them—which is his right under the law—and one by one, each of them turned and attacked him, leaving him no choice but to use deadly force. He’s probably as upset as anyone that it had to turn out that way. There’s always [this approach to his defense](http://www.evilchili.com/videos/5088/Multiple_Murders__Monty_Python). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/37 "2012-04-16T14:01:51Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > There’s always [this approach to his defense](http://www.evilchili.com/videos/5088/Multiple_Murders__Monty_Python). Thanks, I’d forgotten that sketch! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/38 "2012-04-16T14:26:08Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > “The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine.” --Abraham Lincoln “Many people quote Albert Einstein to appear smart.” - William Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/39 "2012-04-16T14:46:02Z")
“Shakespeare was a prick” – Queen Elizabeth ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841/40 "2012-04-16T14:59:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > “Shakespeare was a prick” – Queen Elizabeth “Speaking of which, suck on this, woman.” – Francis Bacon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-morons-vet-your-goddamn-sources/618841.md?page=3)