Did you know I was not drunk today?
So…what was the first thing you thought of when you read that heading? Was he drunk yesterday? Is this a problem? How often does he get drunk? Well, let me put that to rest right now. I have never been drunk, ever! I don’t drink & never have. That headline was absolutely correct…but conveyed the totally wrong conclusion. Jump to conclusions, too quickly, and off you go in the completely wrong direction.
So when the local newspaper had the headline, which came on a “Breaking News” bulletin to my Blackberry, what was I to think? The truncated headline read, “Breaking News: Radiation on planes from Japan…” I had to click on the story to get the rest of the headline: “Radiation on planes from Japan to Sea-Tac not cause for concern, customs officials say.” No kidding. Read it here: http://is.gd/1Lm3y8
Go ahead, read the article…it goes on to say that they have uncovered “not one incident of any unusual radiation readings.”
So somebody, somewhere said that radiation had been detected in cargo arriving by planes…but nobody can find the origin of those claims. Good old internet, blogs and the ability to say whatever you want. I found reference to this “story” on AP and Bloomberg news service…but again, no source, no quotes, no…nothing!
Now about the “fact” that I wasn’t drunk today? Well, you can believe that tomorrow I will not be drunk either! Count on it. You can even quote me!
Tell a half truth long enough and people will begin to believe it as truth. Use selective headline enough times and a story mutates in a determined agenda. Glad you’re not drunk!