A few years ago, there was a very popular conspiracy theory circulating Twitter surrounding Avril Lavigne. For whatever reason, people were convinced that this pop sensation had actually died many years ago and was replaced by a clone.
I have no idea who had such a wild imagination to conjure up such a crazy theory, but they must've had good proof that it was true because it spread, fast. Soon enough everyone at my high school started talking about whether or not classic hits from our childhood like "Sk8ter Boi" and "Complicated" were actually sung by her or her clone.
Below is an example of tweets encouraging the conspiracy theory.
Whether this theory was a blatant lie created for drama similar to the pro-conservative lies that Christopher Blair would spread in Eli Saslow's article "How Lies Become Truth in Online America", or simply just a genuine concern, ultimately the resulting effect is the same -- a lie being spread on the internet.
Luckily, when Avril heard about this theory, she only scoffed and called it simply a "dumb internet rumor". However, although it may have seemed dumb to her, or even dumb to us now, people genuinely believed this theory -- which is probably why it became so popular.
Similar to Saslow, there are a few reasons why I think some stories spread so fast on the internet:
1. Many people believe what they read, and forget to question credibility
2. Re-sharing, re-tweeting, re-posting is incredibly easy
3. Some people are malicious and think it's funny to trick others into believing false information
Therefore, social media is the most dangerous game of telephone. Not only does it provide a platform to promote false information, but this false information can sometimes cause irreparable damage. Luckily Avril Lavigne was hurt by this rumor, but in cases like Blair, rumors can damage careers and families. Thus, people should remember to always process what they read on the internet with a grain of salt.
Works Cited:
Rossi, Rosemary. “Celebrity Death Hoaxes: 46 Famous People Who Were Reported Dead... But Weren't (Photos).” The Wrap, 26 Jan. 2020, www.thewrap.com/celebrity-death-hoax-jack-black-rick-fox-taylor-swift-paul-mccartney/.
Shepherd, Jack. “Avril Lavigne Responds to Rumours She Died and Was Replaced by Body Double.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 12 Feb. 2019, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/avril-lavigne-death-conspiracy-melissa-hoax-rumour-body-double-theory-a8774886.html.
“There's a Weird Conspiracy Theory That Avril Lavigne Is Dead and Has Been Replaced by a Lookalike.” The Hits, The Hits, 15 May 2017, www.thehits.co.nz/spy/theres-a-weird-conspiracy-theory-that-avril-lavigne-is-dead-and-has-been-replaced-by-a-lookalike/.
I remember when this was going around! I like the storytelling type of approach in your writing and you integrated the class content with your topic seamlessly. I also appreciated the Works Cited section. Over the past few decades the pace of people's lives has become faster and faster. I think this encourages not looking deeper into the facts, as people just don't have the time/have too much going on. The format of social media does too, as information is received in this small compact form where you may acknowledge it briefly until you scroll down to something completely different. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Dara,
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good read and I agree with all of your points. I like how you tied this piece in with Eli Saslow's paper, because you really should take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. The title of this blog is also very engaging. You do a good job of bringing in a real example of fake news that was believed by many people on social media. By using Avril Lavigne as an example also helps engage the reader. Overall I really liked this post!
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ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteI really liked that you told a story throughout your writing - it felt like listening to my friend talk the whole time. I definitely agree that this rumor became so popular because we don't spend a lot of time questioning credibility, but this is also why it's so important to do so now. I think your bullet points really helped solidify your understanding of the issue and helped others understand the ethics behind it as well. Plus, you made the readings work really well with your topic. One small thing you can fix is the wording in your very last paragraph - I'm pretty sure you didn't mean it but you wrote "Luckily, Avril was hurt by this rumor” instead of “wasn’t hurt.” It was overall a really engaging read!
Thank you for providing us with such an interesting perspective! I really like the way you present the ideas. You gave real life examples, and you also provide your own thoughts as you describe them. Very impressing!
ReplyDeleteSounds like something out of Black Mirror! In a unique way, this shows how disinformation can have a monetary effect - what do you think would happen if, instead of saying she's a clone, someone claimed she actually died? We all know the works of famous artists become extremely popular posthumously, just look at the recent passing of Juice WRLD. Social media gives a platform to all information, and without discreditation, impactful messages will spread with no regards to their subject.
ReplyDeleteHi Dara,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. You always hear people saying, "It's on the internet. Do you really believe it?" Everything we read on the on the internet, we must definitely take with a grain of salt. I remember when this story came out. I simply shrugged it off, seeing how far fetched the idea seemed. However, I can see how so many people may have believed it. Great blog to read!