A YouTube channel that pokes fun at Reddit successfully pulled a viral prank using a quote and Neil deGrasse Tyson as bait.
The idea was to test the skepticism of Internet users, and the results might make you think twice about sharing a quote photograph before fact checking it.
The experiment began when redditor AHamWorker posted a photo to one of the most highly engaged communities, /r/atheism. The image, shown below, featured what appeared to be a quote from Tyson.
The made-up quote is about accepting fact when it's reassured by a notable person, or suits preferred world views -- regardless of whether it's true.
AHamWorker even prefaced the set-up by adding "Well said, Neil," in the subtitle. The post was upvoted more than a thousand times, and quickly spread to Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and other social platforms. A Google search for a snippet of text even has quote-collecting sites inaccurately attributing Tyson as the source.
Do you check quotes when they're included in a photo before sharing to your social sites? Let us know in the comments below.