Published in El Pais, 14 July 2018.
About 20 years ago the internet started as a common tool for people’s daily lives. Before this time the information channels were limited to television, radio, newspapers, magazines and books. Working for one of these media was a big responsibility because people believed and gave a lot of value to its information.
Now, the new generation has same confidence in the information available as in my times. However, nowadays it is easier to disseminate information, without any control, through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, etc. With the videos available, on Facebook or YouTube, there is a vast range of suggestions for softer skin, brighter hair or something to improve health. But before you fill your hair with a mixture of peanut butter, banana, virgin olive oil mixed with shampoo and mayonnaise perhaps it is worth checking if someone you know with good looking hair has achieved some results with these recipes.
Another example are death statements of famous people. Not a week goes by without hearing that someone famous has died and who after a few hours miraculously appear alive on TV. Personas such as Sylvester Stallone, Hilary Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Stan Lee and many other celebrities have had to suffer temporary fake deaths. The last one was Diego Maradona who was declared dead and even had to call his worried wife to show that he was alive.
Before the Photoshop era, the photos and videos had a lot of genuine value. Now, you do not need to be a genius with computers to put a UFO in a photo, create a bigfoot of a stuffed toy in the snow or create an interesting scene between Trump and some blonde.
I think we should be more critical before believing anything we see on the internet. There is not a Bill Gates that gives money when you open an email account and send an invite to 25 other people, nor are there African princes who give you 15 million dollars for helping them in a simple bank transfer.
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