c/fake-outrage-watch

I got mad about a 'news' story that turned out to be a joke tweet from 2018.

I spent a good 20 minutes yesterday morning getting worked up over a headline about a new city law, only to find out (after I'd already typed a rant) that the whole thing started from some guy's sarcastic post four years ago that got passed around as real.

I saw a story about a park bench being removed for 'safety' and thought it was fake, but then I walked by and it was actually gone.

My brother pointed out the 'outrage' over the new park statue was just three people yelling online

Saw a local news segment get mad about a 'dangerous' new teen slang that I'm 90% sure they made up

My neighbor in Phoenix went on a 20 minute rant because a local news story said 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'

Saw a woman at the grocery store get mad about a 'woke' cereal box

She was in the aisle at the Kroger on Maple Street, holding a box of kids' cereal. She told her friend, loud enough for people to hear, that the cartoon character was now 'too diverse' and it was 'ruining breakfast'. The box had the same tiger it's had for like 20 years. It was clearly just for attention. Has anyone else seen someone make up a problem with a product just to seem upset?

Serious question, did anyone else think the whole 'Starbucks holiday cup' thing was just a made up fight?

I saw all those headlines last November about people being mad at Starbucks for a plain red cup, and I figured it was just a few loud voices getting amplified. But then my cousin in Omaha sent me a video of a guy yelling at a barista in his local store, and the barista looked genuinely shaken. It made me wonder if maybe the outrage was more real in some places than the internet made it seem. Has anyone else had a moment where they thought a story was fake but then saw something that made them doubt it?

My local news ran a story about a 'controversial' park bench color

They spent three minutes on air calling the new blue benches 'divisive' and 'a slap in the face to tradition', but when I called the parks department, the guy just laughed and said they got a good deal on the paint. It's the most obvious fake outrage I've seen in a while. Has anyone else noticed their local news making a huge deal out of nothing lately?

My friend said to ignore the online fuss about a cartoon dog's name change

Back in 2021, there was a huge uproar online because some people said a cartoon dog's name was being changed for political reasons. My buddy Mark, who works in animation, told me it was all fake drama and the name was never officially changed. He was right, the whole thing was just a rumor that blew up on social media for a week and then vanished. It taught me to wait a few days before believing any 'outrage' story. Has anyone else seen a news story recently that fell apart after a closer look?

My cousin in Denver got mad because a cartoon character got a new voice actor

He spent like twenty minutes on a group chat going off about how it 'ruined his childhood' and 'disrespected the original artist's vision'. The thing is, he hasn't actually watched the show since we were kids, and the original voice actor retired years ago. It felt like he was just looking for a reason to be upset online. Has anyone else seen people get mad about stuff they don't even follow anymore?

Saw a news segment about a coffee shop's 'offensive' holiday cup design...

The host was calling for a boycott, but the shop's manager in Toledo told me they'd only sold 12 of those cups total before the story aired. Anyone else notice how these tiny things get blown up into national drama?

Vent: The whole 'controversy' over the new library mural in Springfield was cooked up by one guy's blog

Our local paper ran a front page story about 'heated debate' on the new art, but they only quoted three people. Two were for it, and the one against it runs a blog that gets money from clicks on angry posts. I checked the city council meeting minutes from last Tuesday, and not one person spoke against it. How does a non-issue like this even become news? Has anyone else seen their local media blow up a story based on basically nothing?

My local news ran a story about a 'controversial' new park statue, but the only angry quote came from a guy who lives two states over.

Checked the city council minutes and the vote was unanimous, with zero public complaints filed. How does a non-issue like that even become a headline?

Spent 45 minutes yesterday trying to find the original source of a quote that was making everyone mad. It was from a satire site from 2017.

Hot take: the 'outrage' over the new park sculpture in Greenville is completely manufactured

I walked through the new city park in Greenville yesterday and saw the much-talked-about metal sculpture. It's just a simple, abstract shape, maybe 8 feet tall. The local news had a segment saying people were 'furious' and calling for its removal, but for the 45 minutes I was there, not one person even looked annoyed. A few kids were playing tag around it. It feels like a story created to fill airtime. Has anyone actually met a person who is genuinely upset about this thing?

Remember when a news story was just a news story?

I was looking at an old local paper from 2003 I found in a box. A story about a new park bench was just that, a short article. Now, that same story would be a 5-minute video online with a host acting like the bench is a sign of societal collapse. The difference is they used to just give you the facts and let you decide. Now they have to make you feel something, usually anger, to keep you watching. It's all about clicks, not news. Has anyone else noticed how calm old reporting looks compared to today's stuff?

Vent: My friend's take on that viral coffee shop 'scandal' in Portland

Was talking to my friend Sam yesterday about that news story where a local cafe got review bombed because they stopped offering oat milk. Sam pointed out the whole thing was started by one influencer's tweet, and the news ran with it for a week before anyone checked if people were actually mad. It made me realize how often a single post gets turned into a 'public outcry' story. Has anyone else seen a news cycle get fueled by basically one person's tweet this month?

My local paper's 'outrage' story got 12 shares and I checked the comments

I saw a headline yesterday about a new park bench design causing 'fury' in our town. The article quoted three people, all with the same vague complaint. I looked at the post on their site, and it only had 12 shares after two days. The five comments were all from the same two people arguing with each other. It felt like the whole thing was made to get clicks because nothing was really happening. Has your local news done this with a non-issue lately?

Serious question, did anyone else see that 'outrage' over the new cereal box design?

It was a 2% size reduction for the same price, and people acted like the company committed a crime. I just bought the store brand for $1.50 less and moved on with my life. Anyone else think this kind of 'scandal' is just noise?

Just saw a local news segment that claimed a 500% increase in 'neighborhood disputes' over trash cans.

They ran it for three days straight, but the source was a single tweet from a guy in a town 200 miles away. It's amazing how a random social media post can become a week-long 'crisis' story. Has anyone else noticed their local news doing this kind of thing lately?

Remember when a news anchor's coffee mug was a two-day story?

I saw a clip from 2015 where a guy got mad online because a reporter had a plain black mug on his desk. The whole thing was over in 48 hours. Now, that same clip would get dug up every six months as 'proof' of some grand conspiracy. People act like it's a brand new scandal each time, ignoring the date and the fact nobody cared back then. It's not even real anger, it's just content farming with old news. Does anyone else notice how often old, settled non-issues get recycled like this?

The great 'controversy' over the new Springfield library mural

Our local paper ran a front page story about 'outrage' over a new mural at the public library, claiming it was 'divisive'. I went to see it, and it's just a painting of kids reading books under a tree. The 'outrage' was literally two comments on the paper's own Facebook page from the same person, Karen B. The whole thing was a story built from nothing to get clicks. Has anyone else seen their local news do this?

Shoutout to the local news for their 'controversial' new park bench design

Our town paper ran a front page story yesterday about 'public fury' over some modern art benches installed in the square, but when I went down there, people were just sitting on them eating lunch. The whole thing was based on three angry comments from a Facebook post. How do these stories even get written?