I remember during my first months of college, I was invited to a “tent revival” in the small midwestern town where the college was located. It was a small crowd, but the preacher was on fire, regaling us with the evils of communism. He pounded on and on about how “You can trust the communists ( to be communists ) !” Then he passed the collection basket asking for funds to fight communism. I was escorted out when I asked “Exactly how will this money be used to fight communism ?”
Not much has changed. Today people use social media to inflame passions, and solicit money. Whenever I see some inflammatory picture shared in a Tweet, or on Facebook, and then look at the referenced site, I see the highlighted option to DONATE ! Just what are we supporting through our gifts ? Is it to actually go and do something about a problem, or are we just lining the pockets of a writer with a colorful message ?
These folks are pretty good at what they do. They take a picture, add a very pointed caption, and immediately capture a person’s interest. Often the caption is posed as a question. Though the message may be lacking in facts, it is designed to entice our negative thinking. It also gives the casual reader the impression the statement is actually a real problem when, in reality, it may simply be a ploy to speak to our more “concerned” side.
The original message may sound important, like “Lets keep America great!” Next comes a description of the problem, usually filled with lots of name calling ( negative labels applied to people ), generalizations, and the total absence of any data. Finally comes the clincher, “Help us fight this evil by donating today!”
So where does this money go ? Usually it simply goes into the pocket of the person who has the blog site. Does that mean something constructive will actually happen ? Sure ! The author will construct another article and ask you for more money. Will this solve the problems cited ? Actually, no ! First, the problems cited may have no basis in truth. Secondly, there is likely no actual work being performed to use the funds to educate decision makers, or even communicate with them. How lucrative is this ? If a person wrote an article, posted it, and 1,000 people each sent in $ 5, that’s $ 5,000. On the internet, 1,000 people is a very small number.
Simply put, the next time you go to “Like” or “Share” an article, you might want to check first to see if there is a DONATE button. If it exists, you may want to do further research to see if what you endorse is an honest expression, or simply another method for separating people from their hard earned dollars.