Really, Twitter? It’s a shame that the Internet perpetuated this awful rumor about Oprah Winfrey
Article By Amber Cole // EEW Magazine Online // Social Media
Christian media mogul Oprah Winfrey has done so much good for humanity over many decades, but many were willing to believe the worst about her based on an unsubstantiated rumor circulating online.
On Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, a false report went viral claiming that the 66-year-old philanthropist had been arrested at her home in Boca Raton, Florida for sex trafficking, sending her name to the top of Twitter’s trending topics for hours.
Once Winfrey was informed that she was trending for this reason, she took to her verified Twitter account to debunk the claims.
“Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE,” she wrote. “Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.”
The harmful story that had the Internet all abuzz revealed just how easy it is to spread false information online and get others to believe it.
Social media users shared a video featuring an erroneous report that Winfrey’s house had been closed off by authorities and was being excavated for underground tunnels. The Daily Mail and CNN say the story originated with the QAnon, a far-right group known for its conspiracy theories.
Other celebrities were also implicated in the video, but only Winfrey’s name trended under the hashtags #Oprah and #OprahDidWhat.
It’s a shame that thousands seemed all too eager to hop on the trend, buy into such a narrative and spread it without one ounce of proof. Nowadays, it’s more important than ever to verify facts and remind yourself not to be so quick to believe everything you read—even if thousands believe it online.
