[shephardjhon]

so what exactly should have tipped off the journalists or commentators? and yes, I mean not just the bounty hunters but also the trans one. If the idea was that this was some elaborate puzzle to solve, what EXACTLY was the solution and how should they have come to it? This is not a cleaver joke, the people supporting this aren't Sacha Baron Cohen. In Borat, there were many things that would tip people off beyond just the absurdity of what he was saying or doing. So what EXACTLY were journalists on either side supposed to pick up on?

[esyir]

The fundamental rule imo should be that the more absurd the claim, the more it deserves a double check. That hospitals are prioritising gunshots below ivermectin is absurd to what I hope is most people.

[rufus_foreman]

The fundamental rule is to double check everything. Otherwise you end up letting false stories through that confirm your preexisting biases, since they don't sound "absurd" to you.

If your mother says she loves you, check it out.

[wutbrodo]

Yup, and the common excuse that you don't have time to check everything out is nonsense too. You're not required to have an opinion on everything, and you shouldn't have an opinion on anything you haven't bothered to inform yourself about.