The Misinformation Age.

Jason Clarke

The 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination in Dallas was bound to produce some shocking new revelation, so here it is: a previously unseen photo that captures a familiar scene from an unfamiliar angle and seriously challenges the accepted version of history.

If this image is right, history is wrong. But how do you tell?

JFK

There are 505 known stills (and seven films) of this event; if this is image #506 we should expect to see lots of little details found elsewhere. Researchers have identified almost everyone who appeared in images from Dallas but for the life of me I can’t find a single person that should be in this picture. Instead I see people who don’t show up in any of the other 505 photographs.

So I’m not tearing up the history book just yet. But what is this?

A little research reveals there’s been six Hollywood recreations staged at Dealey and after checking ‘em all on YouTube I’d say the 1977 telemovie ‘Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald’ is a perfect match in every (incorrect) detail.

Now it took me an hour to figure what this is (and isn’t) and although I’m sure most people wouldn’t have bothered, it really bugs me when misinformation goes viral just because it’s easier to spread a story than verify it.

There’s a lot of nonsense out there and a lot of people ready to believe it, especially if we’re all so busy sending and receiving we don’t have time for checking.

Welcome to the Misinformation Age: are you a checker or a spreader?

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