You can learn anything you want to know on the internet. Want to start your sourdough journey? There are dozens of tutorials out there. Interested in the history of the Spanish language? You can read all about it for days! But you have to be careful where you look for your information, because there are plenty of false claims out there, especially on social media.
We took a trip to the Get Noted subreddit and compiled some of their best posts below. This community is on a mission to fact-check and call out anyone who posts misinformation online, and so far, they’re doing a great job. Enjoy scrolling through these screenshots of people being corrected, and be sure to upvote the posts that you can’t help but laugh at!
#1 Owned By His Account’s Location
Image source: Supergameplayer
#2 Rare Real Life Community Note
Image source: piggicakes
#3 Proving Her Point
Image source: Skrilli
If you only go online to look at memes on social media and communicate with your friends, you might not notice how rampant misinformation is on the internet. It doesn’t seem like a pressing issue if your only concerns are how many likes your Instagram story has received or finding local events in your area on Facebook.
But the reality is that many people are keeping up with global events from social media. The Pew Research Center reports that 38% of adults in the United States say they regularly receive their news from social media, and 35% say the same about YouTube. So if someone is spreading lies on the internet, there’s a good chance that another person will take those false claims as gospel.
#4 Dawg That’s Not How That Works
Image source: Darth_Vrandon, x.com
#5 Washington Desk
Image source: laybs1
#6 Drew Should Sit This One Out
Image source: Impossible-Yam3680, x.com
Unfortunately, there are plenty of lies going around the internet. Research from the Social Market Foundation found that two in five local Facebook groups and over 80% of X searches featured at least one piece of misinformation in their last 1,000 posts. Meanwhile, almost 4% of news posts on Facebook included false claims, and on X, over a quarter of news posts were misinformation.
This is even worse in areas with limited or no local news outlets. In these “news deserts,” fake news appears nearly three times as often as it does in other areas. And misinformation tends to peak at certain times. For example, places with local elections saw misinformation skyrocket in the days leading up to voting day.
#7 When Pretty Much The Entire Tweet Gets Noted, You Know It’s Bad
Image source: Skullbone211, x.com
#8 Birthright Citizenship
#9 The Us Military Is Like Leveling Up In Real Life
Image source: PopularRooster3431
Now, you might be wondering why these false claims online are such a big deal. They’re just honest mistakes, right? Well, not always. The Anti-Defamation League notes that disinformation, the intentional spread of lies or propaganda, is rampant on the internet too. And it can be incredibly dangerous.
Disinformation can heavily impact elections and politics. Donald Trump knows this all too well, as he has claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged” and stolen from him, even though he lost fair and square. But his claims have pushed many of his supporters to distrust those on the other end of the political spectrum, leading to further division in the United States.
#10 Concord, Massachusetts Is Liberal
Image source: Impossible-Yam3680
#11 Don’t Believe Everything You Read On Xitter
Image source: beerbellybegone, x.com
#12 Flat Earthers Are Too Easy To Make Fun Of, Man
Image source: Darth_Vrandon
Misinformation online can also be very dangerous when it comes to our health. We’ve all heard that vaccines cause autism or that sunscreen causes cancer, but these claims are simply false. We need vaccines to keep us safe, as the United States is currently seeing the largest outbreak of measles in 35 years because of declining vaccination rates. Meanwhile, not wearing sunscreen can greatly increase a person’s risk of developing skin cancer, something that nobody wants. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having autism, no, your child will not magically get it after receiving their vaccines.
#13 “Ukrainian Imperialism”
Image source: metroracerUK
#14 Base On This Logic, Rob Is Nearly 200 Years Old
Image source: [deleted], x.com
#15 Church Service For Runners
Image source: laybs1
The unfortunate thing about misinformation online is that it can spread so rapidly. The American Psychological Association notes that this happens because social media doesn’t have the same safeguards in place to protect against false claims that mainstream news outlets do. Of course, there are some major news outlets that spread disinformation as well. But in general, they are supposed to fact-check and be careful about what they share. On the internet, however, anything goes.
#16 Just LOL
Image source: PresnikBonny, x.com
#17 Library
Image source: ictofaname
#18 This Just In, Hurricanes Don’t Have Cruise Control
Image source: [deleted]
The algorithms on social media sites also make it much easier to find yourself in an echo chamber online. If you engage with a certain kind of content, the site will continue to push similar videos or posts onto your feed. The platform doesn’t care if these posts are full of conspiracy theories or false claims. As long as you’re engaging with those posts, you’re going to see more and more of them, which can send you down a rabbit hole of misinformation.
#19 What’s Next, Are You Going To Say He Founded Tesla?
Image source: Drezby
#20 Nancy Hasn’t Passed Elementary School Us History
#21 The Lack Of Ties That Bind
The great thing about these features on social media that allow users to call out false claims is that they give us an opportunity to correct the record. Posts will get flagged as untrustworthy, and eventually, followers will realize that certain accounts are simply uncredible. Of course, this isn’t a perfect solution. Social media platforms should still take responsibility and try to prevent such posts from gaining traction in the first place. But when you can’t trust big corporations, at least you can trust some people to keep others accountable.
#22 Micro Retirement
Image source: EmbarrassedBeat7327, x.com
#23 So Confident Yet So Wrong
Image source: [deleted]
#24 Did He Even Read His Bible?
Image source: [deleted], x.com
Are you enjoying these photos of people being called out for their false claims, pandas? We have to admit that we feel a bit of schadenfreude when someone who made an ignorant statement gets corrected. Keep upvoting the ones that make you smile, and let us know in the comments if you’ve seen any similar claims made on social media. Then, if you’d like to check out another article from Bored Panda featuring similar pics, we recommend reading this one next!
#25 Chicago Jesus
Image source: laybs1
#26 Pride And Veterans
Image source: laybs1
#27 Trying To Say Mamdani Had No American Flags At Inauguration
Image source: seeebiscuit
#28 Government Transportation
Image source: WannabeCelt
#29 This Is Just Sad
Image source: RayTheReddit1108
#30 They Hold Their Followers In Giggling Contempt
Image source: c-k-q99903
#31 Are You Stupid?
#32 “We’re Trillions In Debt Which Is Why I’m Voting For Things That Put Us In More Debt”
Image source: Darth_Vrandon
#33 Elon Musk
Image source: RaspberryAdept6052
#34 Claiming Mitch Mcconnell Is Alive
Image source: BAbe_Linc0ln
#35 Cigarettes Are Bad For You. Source: The Fda
Image source: Which_Boysenberry_71
#36 Hmm, That Second Part Would Change The Entire Context Huh?
Image source: Darth_Vrandon
#37 Mace Being Full Of It As Usual
Image source: Darth_Vrandon
#38 The Drama
Image source: Good_Cardiologist696
#39 America First
Image source: YourLocalMoroccan
#40 Daily Mail Attempted To Shane Simone Biles
Image source: Shaunnieboy22
#41 Atheism
Image source: Impossible-Yam3680
#42 It Was Saturday
Image source: stormy_tanker
#43 Gov’t Is Above The Law
Image source: [deleted]
#44 Eric Adams: If You Don’t Include Anyone Who’s Doing Better Than You, You’re In First Place!
Image source: VectorPryde
#45 It’s Amazing How Little People Know About History
Image source: RavenclawNatsfan
#46 Skinner Did In Fact Do Things That Were Wrong
Image source: MegaDitto13
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