It’s interesting to me how people take direct quotes and, usually out

It’s interesting to me how people take direct quotes and, usually out of context, add subjective words to them. These subjective quotes are then interpreted into bite-sized headlines and spread as news. Which are then further interpreted and spread as social media commentary.

And all of a sudden, our collective knowledge around a subject isn’t based on truth, but rather a fuzzy memory of an interpretation of an interpretation of an event.

For instance, a few weeks ago I watched the press conference where Trump mentioned the now infamous quote around injecting disinfectants.

Instantly, the social web lit up with articles, jokes, and controversy around his comments.

Many articles mention things like injecting bleach. And then folks on social media start talking about drinking Clorox.

But that’s not what he said. Here’s what the actual quote was:

“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me.”

No where did he mention bleach or Clorox. But if you ask most people about this quote, they’ll quote the misquotes.

Personally, I think it’s dangerous to brainstorm life-altering medical procedures in front of the entire world.

But in general, people like Trump need to be more aware of this phenomenon for twisted quotes of quotes and be more selective with their words. Though, ultimately, it is the fault of the people who misquote sources.

Anyway, the lesson in all of this?

Don’t blindly trust folks who offer interpretations, rather if it’s important, go directly to the source.