Immigrants, pets and the sin of slander in an age of social media
(RNS) — This week, outlandish allegations that, in a small city in Ohio, Haitian immigrants were hunting down and eating people’s cats, dogs and other pets spread across the internet, even making an appearance in the presidential debate. Though there’s no verifiable evidence of any case of a Haitian immigrant eating a pet — to say nothing of a trend that will soon threaten your pet — rumors spread quickly. It was already an “old proverb” in the 19th century when Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon quipped, “A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.” In the internet era, falsehoods move at light speed, and the biblical commandment to “not bear false witness” has become among the more socially acceptable sins. That’s probably because it’s so easy: We can now disparage someone without personally articulating the charge, in either verbal or written form; we can reshare slanderous accusations with a tap of a finger or click of a mouse. Our human nature is apt to do so, dismissing any reluctance …
