As social media platforms continue to reward engagement regardless of whether or not the content being engaged with is at all accurate, countless accounts have developed feeds dedicated to spreading misinformation purely for clicks.
Unfortunately, one of these accounts filed a bogus “report” about NFL Network reporter Jane Slater this weekend. A Facebook account by the name of “Star Nation” fabricated a report on Saturday suggesting NFL Network reporter Jane Slater, who primarily covers the Dallas Cowboys, had died “after a tragic domestic violence incident.”
That apparently couldn’t have been further from the truth. Slater, who did numerous hits for NFL Network on Sunday morning, responded to the rumors on social media.
Replying to a follower asking if she had passed, she wrote, “I don’t think so? But does this mean there is glitch [sic] in the matrix? I’m gonna wrap myself in bubble wrap until NYE.”
Completely false reports such as these have become commonplace on Facebook, which appears to have very limited guardrails for cracking down on this form of content. Accounts are compensated for generating engagement, and the easiest way to generate engagement is to fabricate shocking headlines that users will spread without verification.
Today it was Slater, and tomorrow it’ll be someone else.
At risk of stating the obvious, public figures shouldn’t have to swat down false stories about being victims of domestic violence.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.