Please do your fact checking

I wish to draw the attention of ATS to a problem that I have been noticing more and more lately, namely the lack of fact checking. Please check yourself before you post. I would like to have you look at the Assange Captured thread for an example.

Assange Captured

It’s on to page 11 at the time of this posting and if you read everything it seems that some people are still confused at the initial mis-info post. Stuncrazy, good job for bringing it to our attention initially, and don’t think that this is an attack on you, but folks, be sure to read everything in the thread, not just the headline, OP and post above yours. We as an online community trot out the old line 'Deny Ignorance' everyday but fumble in spectacular form just after. We mock the common man for not bothering to look into basic issues for himself and then fail ourselves in the same way.

For me its as bad as seeing an 900 pound fitness instructor or a dentist with rotten teeth.

So before I get off my soap box I beg you, look at some of the posts by our well known researchers. Look at the detail and sniff out things that don't look right. Check your facts and don’t race to break a story for the sake of flags and stars. And as you read, check each other. The only way we can catch the MSM in a lie is by checking what each other posts.

Now that I have that out of my system I'll go back to putting my two pennies into other people’s threads.

EDIT: To be clear, Stuncrazy is not the source of the mis-info, the nerdynerdnerds site is. That was unclear to me as I read my own post.

I cannot do anything but agree!

S&F!

I agree with you but here at ats we can get to the bottom of things fairly fast.
If anything...that thread you linked above proves that.

What I would like to ad is when someone sees a topic and just says....oh thats BS.
A post like that adds absolutely nothing.

If people think it is BS then explain why and show some proof to back up your OPINIONS.

An opinion that something is BS doesn't exactly add up to a quality post.
Debunking it or showing why you might think that it is BS does add quality.

So...not only should people do their fact checking...they should also do so while posting instead of adding absolutely nothing but an opinion.

Those posts that say this is BS with nothing behind it is a waste of bandwidth.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Could not agree more, but that said I do find the occisonal butt hurt flame war to be entertaining

But not joke, its one thing to call some one out, but then the eyes turn on you to provide something of substance.

reply to post by Obinhi

Good points, OP. They have been raised by others in the past but I don't see any harm in repeating them.

The other side of the problem is this: it happens quite often that even when we do check our facts, give specific details, cite references and link to reputable sources, we still get the problem of some members who post contrary opinions on the thread without even offering reasoned arguments against what we've said. I'm not talking about those who simply don't read the thread responses before posting (and who often ask questions that have already been answered). No, the biggest problem is those who apparently do read them, but still contend their own perspective must be right and our referenced info must be wrong-- even though they present no credible, supporting evidence for their own point of view.

Granted, our own perspective could be wrong, but if we have backed it up with some research and references then at least we have some legitimate basis for our perspective. So it's pretty galling to be told "you're wrong" by people who are either unwilling or unable to back up what they say.

I've learned a few useful things here on ATS, but sometimes, taking this knowledge on board required me to set aside what I believed to be right and to re-examine the whole issue in the light of reasoned evidence and references presented by other members. I'm not proud. If I find I've been wrong on something then well and good -- and I think most members who come here with a genuine desire to improve their knowledge would say the same thing.

What bothers me is those who don't seem to have that kind of mindset and who simply believe that they must be right, no matter what anyone says.

Best regards,

Mike

CNN did say the cops were indeed coming to arrest him, his lawyers were made aware of this, etc...so I honestly don't know what to think of it for now.

Is he giving up, is he now on the run..why did CNN say he was about to be apprehended over in the UK, etc...

reply to post by JustMike


You see this kind of stuff in the nationalism arguments. It is one thing to say the US government is doing some shady stuff, but to call Americans in general stupid is too far. It is one thing to not be convinced by the theories presented on this site, but quite another to argue for the sake of seeing yourself post so to speak.

reply to post by SaturnFX


I'm still under the impression that the UK police are awaiting information from INTERPOL. You know that if he was captured it would be blasted on all channels. The government wants this guy bad and will parade him on TV when they get him.

reply to post by Obinhi

Absolutely agree. It's appalling how some people seem to apply various negative tags to an entire nation's population, or even to all of those who hold a view in opposition to theirs. I do my best not to respond to them in kind; while I have no qualms about attacking someone's post, I don't see that as a reason to label the individual stupid, let alone all their fellow citizens. Sure, I might say some negative things about their post, but that doesn't mean I think the person who wrote it is stupid. Misguided, misinformed, narrow-minded, naive or ignorant, maybe -- as I am also on some matters -- but not stupid.

Mike

reply to post by Obinhi


In my opinion it seems it's pretty much rampant throughout the ATS site. Seems most people don't let facts, logic or good common sense get in the way of a good conspiracy theory. Still love the site though!