Christopher Blair: Hero or Villain?

With every new year that passes, technology is becoming increasingly advanced, allowing people to connect and share information easier than they’ve ever been able to in the past. Due to this, fake news, and its proliferation, have become increasingly widespread. Eli Saslow’s article, “‘Nothing on this page is real’: How lies become truth in online America” explores an example of how fake news is spread on a large scale even when it is unintentional. 

Amongst all the fake news being shared in the media came a satirical Facebook page titled “America’s Last Line of Defense”, created by Christopher Blair. While Blair had intended to make satirical news stories for the purpose of comedy, many of them end up being shared around the website as if they were real. Even though the Facebook page includes several disclaimers stating the headlines are satirical, it doesn’t stop ignorant right wing extremists from sharing the posts and leaving comments in the belief that they are real. These actions in turn provoke Blair and his loyal followers to respond to the comments to “teach a lesson” to those unironically sharing the posts. While it may seem like Blair and his followers are doing the heroic thing, educating these ignorant Facebook users to keep fake news from spreading, I would argue the opposite. Are Blair and his followers merely bullying these people, confirming their negative beliefs on the left winged opposition? Or are they actually educating them?

When reading Blair’s responses to the comments on the posts, it seems that he and his followers are truly no better than the people they are trying to teach a lesson to. This becomes evident through quotes such as “What a waste of flesh and time” and “You my dear . . . are as smart as a potato.” After reading these responses, it becomes apparent that it is impossible to derive a lesson from them. If they truly wanted to educate these people then they should simply point out that the post isn’t real. Not only are Blair and his people not teaching a lesson, but they’re actively lowering themselves to the same level of the people they believe they’re superior to.

It is clear through Blair’s actions that he has not attempted to solve the problem of fake news and bigotry, but has instead perpetuated it, becoming the villain.