People talk without really thinking all the time. The problem with saying factually incorrect or ignorant things in a public forum is that the Internet does not forget.
The Holy Grail for ignorant things online is, of course, Fox News. They have said many misguided things about feminism and science and religion.
When Bill O’Reilly was arguing that there was proof for the existence of God, he said the immortal words: “I’ll tell you why [religion is] not a scam, in my opinion. Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can’t explain that. You can’t explain why the tide goes in.” Only you can explain the tides: they’re affected by the gravitational pull of the moon. When people started to make fun of him, he then asked where the moon came from. But the damage was done and the words became a meme with jokes like “When I flush, the water comes back. You can’t explain that,” and “When I spin around really fast, I get dizzy. You can’t explain that.”
During George Zimmerman’s 2013 trial for shooting teenager Trayvon Martin, Geraldo Rivera went on Fox News to publicly say that Trayvon Martin’s hoodie was partially responsible for his shooting, since it made him look threatening (or something). That sparked mockery online (such as a hoodie on sale that says “Recreational hoodie wearer: please don’t shoot”) and movements where people wore hoodies in solidarity with Martin, including the One Million Hoodies Movement for Justice.
It’s not a secret that American Republicans have no idea what is involved in a rape, and perhaps the most inexplicable comment is from Todd Akin, who said that if a woman’s rape is “legitimate,” the body “has ways of shutting the whole thing down.” This inspired jokes and memes, like the poster campaigning to ban life jackets, since the only way to avoid drowning is abstinence from going in the water – oh, and if you’re pushed in the water, if it’s a legitimate pushing, your body finds a way to shut out all the water.
Then there’s Don Lemon over at CNN, who has said a bunch of things people have mocked him for. He asked a commentator if there was a supernatural explanation for the missing Malaysian airplane and then asked if it was possible it had been sucked into a black hole. The very patient guest explained that if there was a black hole that close to Earth, we would all be sucked in. This inspired a picture of Don Lemon floating around in space with a black hole in the background.
Recently, a “terrorism expert” on Fox News was explaining how certain areas in the UK are designated as Muslim-only areas where non-Muslims are not allowed, citing the example of Birmingham. People immediately latched onto this ridiculousness and tweeted out “facts” about Birmingham with the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts. Alongside a picture of a black cricket player: “Terrifying photo of how a typical Muslim from Birmingham guards the city gates against infidels.” With a picture of Daleks from Doctor Who: “Armed Muslim women seize control of Birmingham streets...”
So watch what you say online, because you could be the next trending hashtag.
