Parker Molloy
I genuinely cannot believe there are people angry at me for pointing out that no, a pizza box did not lead to Andrew Tate being arrested, but ok.
Dec 30, 2022 at 8:55pmWeb
Show threadParker MolloyDec 30, 2022

"Why do you care!? Let people have fun! Focus on other things!!!"

Caring about online rumors and misinformation (even when it's generally harmless) is kind of a big part of my work.

Show threadParker MolloyDec 30, 2022
But also, I think it's these examples that make for interesting case studies for us to consider. It's a rumor that was irrelevant to the larger story, so it's not like it hinges on that claim being true, making it much lower stakes (and usually easier to discuss the implications of) in online conversation.
Show threadParker MolloyDec 30, 2022
Back in 2021, I wrote about how highlighting an out-of-context quote from a right-wing Fox News host obscured the newsworthy portion of his speech: https://www.readtpa.com/p/jesse-watters-anthony-fauci-americafest
How to become a Fox News star, according to Fox News star Jesse Watters

The worst thing about his advice on how to conduct ambush interviews has nothing to do with the words "kill shot."

The Present Age
Show threadParker MolloyDec 30, 2022
Which goes with... https://www.readtpa.com/p/video-clip-context-molloys-law
The tighter a video is clipped, the less inclined you should be to share it.

See a 5-second clip that makes you really angry? Take a deep breath and do 90 seconds of research before sharing.

The Present Age
Show threadsneaky pete jrDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy that's excellent advice. i gave up trying to explain this to people on facebook back in 2016 because people just want fucking content, not news or fact.
Show threadCarlito!Dec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy Thank you. I hadn't seen this at the time. Unfortunately, it fits with my general view of Ron Filipowski on Twitter. Luckily I don't see him here.
Show threadHandgunYoga (he/him/his)Dec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy
The karmic self-own via social media is a “better” explanation than the truth, a coincidence following months of boring investigation. We want to believe we are not powerless, that our toots and tweets help bend the arc of Justice.

Which story grabs your eye, “Romanian Police Execute Search Warrant,” or “World’s Biggest Dick Trips Over His Own Tiny Member” ?

Show threadConlan SpanglerDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I agree, it’s a great low-stakes reminder to stay vigilant about our media literacy, because this type of “harmless” tweaking of facts is what leads to so much of the conspiracy nonsense that most sane people are tired of. Keep fighting the good fight.
Show threadRimkoDec 31, 2022
@parkermolloy yeah i think we should dissociate the internet story and the the judicial side.
On the internet side the #PizzaTate is funny, Greta have a boost in popularity, every one have fun about it even the Romanian pizza company have a slice.
Show threadStefanDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy and so important!
Show threadPhoenix Blue (they/them)Dec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I really wish people were a little bit more open to learning new things.
Show threadtoxtethogradyDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...
Show threadApril KirbyDec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy

It was a fun joke but we should be correcting the record when we find out it's untrue. Allowing the disinfo we personally find to be amusing just benefits the people who want there to be an environment of disinformation.

Show threadRDNDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy
So the trick is to care about the truth, but not to care about the judgments of those who don't care about the truth. Or to accept that bad 'facts' are easier to correct than bad attitudes.
Show threadRandomjewelerDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy ah you right n information hygiene is important
Show threadUnabogie has voted Kamala!Dec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy

Wait, what did I miss?

Show threadSean CuttDec 30, 2022
@unabogie @parkermolloy I want to know as well! What source says the pizza box was not part of how they found him?
Show threadUnabogie has voted Kamala!Dec 30, 2022
@SeanWCutt @parkermolloy it's in the latest WaPo article.
Show threadThe Spoonless KitchenDec 30, 2022

@unabogie @parkermolloy The avian droppings container decided (or was paid, which is the more likely answer) to put a beef between a young adult and a MMA fighter (real or fabricated is impossible to tell of course) in front of all of its users (and non-users because it was the first thing in "More Tweets" on everything you looked at, even logged out) for about 24 hours, no matter where you went on the site), so they could get high engagement.

Which probably brought the flagging antisocial media corporation badly-needed revenue. It was pushed to *everybody* I'm not kidding.

And the high-follower accounts fell into goose-step with their algorithmic marching orders, like the devolved insane amygdala-damaged primates with dopamine addiction they are...and "the thing" was everywhere. And Twitter made money. Loads and loads of money. So Twitter still lives.

It was gross. Twitter is gross.

It's all gross.

Show threadThe Lone Apple 🍎Dec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy People want the feel good story even if it's a myth.
Show threadThomasDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I’m actually glad you did. I got sucked into the misinfo (disinfo?) this time and unfortunately propagated it. I am usually careful about that. Needed a lesson again I suppose. Got to be vigilant with this stuff. So thank you!
Show threadParker MolloyDec 30, 2022
@trz Thanks. And yeah, it was one of those things, like a game of telephone. Seems like it started with someone suggesting it was possible, then just sort of got exaggerated to the point of being considered an established fact along the way.
Show threadThe DoctorDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy People, unfortunately, want to be lied to.
Show threadtoxtethogradyDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy The #AndrewTaint bros were so intent on high-fiving each other on Twitter that they failed to notice he actually did go to jail and is still there. The Romanians are not pushovers...
Show threadIpstenu (Mika E.) 🏳️‍🌈Dec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy I'm sad it wasn't the case, but delighted that scumbag got arrested.

What a waste of air, he and his brother are.

Thanks for your efforts!

Show threadLexxxInStereoDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy nope. He did it to himself.
Show threadJulietDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I was called a joyless buzzkill for same today.
Show threadThe Spoonless KitchenDec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy you couldn't escape "the thing" if you went anywhere near the hellsite in the last four days, logged in, logged out, didn't matter.

Plus, the fact that the participants involved (including the drive-by shithawks) are getting more views than the avian droppings container actually has users.

I mean, even at the height of the hellsite's power, before Elno the chaotic evil billionaire red muppet bought the place, if something went "viral" it wasn't MILLIONS of views. But this shit? Millions of views. Or so the metric is claiming. Remember - the metric has lied before!

It's all sketchy. But the "pizza box story" is Exhibit A of how, why, and wherefore, the avian droppings container caused tens of millions of COVID deaths in 2021 alone.

Screw the haters. Speak the truth. Even if no one listens, at least you've spoken up.

That's where I'm at, with it. After 2 days of bringing receipts that the COVID disinformers were NOT censored on Twitter in 2021. At all.

Show threadDave WyattDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I so wanted it to be true. 😂
Show threadcohomology is FUN!Dec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy I’m thankful for your work, because I saw the pizza story repeated in some news headline and believed it
Show threadsneaky pete jrDec 30, 2022
@parkermolloy they don't give a fuck about fact because reality is boring. the seth abramson-ization of the left
Show threadChris JohnsonDec 30, 2022

@parkermolloy Deep down they know they just did the same thing the right does with its conspiracy theories. On a smaller scale, and less harmful, but in spirit it's the same. They heard what they wanted to hear and they bought into it without question.

They obviously feel bad about this mistake. And it's easier to take that out on the person pointing it out than to learn from it and grow.

Show threadRichservo Dec 31, 2022
@parkermolloy I haven't followed the story. What really happened?
Show threadJames BakerDec 31, 2022
It ought to be possible to both not like what Andrew Tate says and also have a realistic view of how the Romanian Police operate.
Show threadMin75Dec 31, 2022

@parkermolloy

"...And one day when you’re old and aged and grey, it will come up somehow and you’ll google it and find out it wasn’t true and think “huh” and then as the light dims out and you shuffle off this mortal coil you’ll wonder “I wonder what else I was wrong about” and then you’ll die and your television show will end, but since you didn’t get an answer it will end the way no television show wants to end: with a cliffhanger."

https://www.calmdownben.com/p/romanian-cops-did-not-find-andrew?sd=pf

Romanian Cops Did Not Find Andrew Tate Because Of His Greta Thunberg Video

This is a lesson in media failure and misinformation.

Calm Down
Show threadSereno Casastorta Dec 31, 2022
@parkermolloy seriously though, I will eternally make jokes how Tate fell as a part of #PizzaTate - but being angry at someone pointing out it’s not how it exactly rolled out…?
Show threadDawn AhukannaDec 31, 2022

@parkermolloy @jwildeboer

“Neva let the truff get in the way of a good stori” 😉

Show threadAlessio Dec 31, 2022
@parkermolloy @jwildeboer when it comes to stuff like this, it becomes clearer and clearer that humanity as a whole just cares about fake stuff that can be memed. Post-truth era is so real, especially in episodes like these