If you read The Daily Currant’s Jan. 2 online story called “Marijuana overdoses kill 37 in Colorado on first day of legalization” and believed it, you are officially:
Not familiar with pot’s effects on the body: Can you overdose and die from marijuana? “The answer is no, it’s not very likely,” according to the federal government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Not a resident of the Denver area: The second graph of the story attributes the facts of the fatalities to the long-shuttered Rocky Mountain News, may she rest in peace.
Not a fan of “Lost:” I will always remember the significance of Dr. Jack Shephard, may he rest in peace. The eye opens, the eye closes.
Not a fan of “Breaking Bad:” If you didn’t follow the genius, Albuquerque-set series, the name Jesse Pinkman wouldn’t have rang a bell.
Not Facebook friends with Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center Denver: The central Denver hospital released a statement shortly after the hoax went viral: “Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center has been the victim of a satiric, hoax story posted today on ‘The Daily Currant,’ an online satirical newspaper.”
And lastly … not the kind of reader who gets important news from established sources: We’re all too discerning to believe everything we read online. But you read this and didn’t check The Currant’s About page or proven, local-to-Colorado news sources before Facebooking it.
Of course some posted it as a tribute to the piece’s well-timed satire. Others were thoroughly confused and saddened by the “news.”
Does this mean we should all be Denverites who are Facebook friends with area hospitals and have encyclopedic knowledge of local journalism history and the effects of marijuana and the most influential TV shows of the last decade?
Of course not. But next time you see a major piece of news being reported by an unrecognized entity, you might think to question its content before spreading it as fact.
