Disinformation on social media is scary (read the post)

Yes, a little late, but I’m still confused.

I ask you to please put aside your political preferences and any ideals. The photo, which clearly shows a kiss between an Italian athlete and her girlfriend, is accompanied by a surprised reaction that is decidedly disgusted by Meloni. I’m sure many of you have already seen it, since it appeared on social media to me too (who, I can assure you, follow ZERO politics), but used in a funny way as a meme/joke.

This page here with big numbers (but I’m sure others like it have done it too) has used this image as a tool for ""propaganda"" (I can’t think of a better term) for their ideals, clearly accusing the Premier in the caption of the post that I won’t even report, is easily imaginable.

Unfortunately, the image is fake and it is just a collage made to make a joke. In fact, the two individual images belong to distinct moments in time.

Reminding you to put aside your political and ideological orientation, I am nervous that the author of the post did not bother to verify the veracity of the image or, worse, that he knowingly used it as a reason to report Meloni. And obviously everyone in the comments insulted her (except a few who recognized that the image is the product of a collage).

Assuming that Meloni actually made homophobic statements (not following anything political, I don’t know for sure, nor do I want to know) and that she deserves such hatred, I find it deeply unfair to create misinformation in such a shameless way. And this is just one case, who knows how many other posts that touch on who knows how many other topics contribute to increasing misinformation. And obviously, people fall for it every time, as the comments prove.

Even though I should expect such stupidity when using social media, I am still shocked at how ineffective and impotent critical thinking is when it comes to information. Tell me if you feel the same way, or am I the only one who is truly bothered by this.