Today’s story begins with Google’s choice of their Doodle Art for 31 March 2013.
Millions of Christians around the world are celebrating the highest of Holy Day’s today, Easter, and may have had an expectation that Google would provide a Doodle related to the holiday.
Instead, as they have since 2000, Google has opted not to do a Doodle related to Easter but instead chose to highlight the contributions of Cesar Chavez.
Cesar Chavez, according to Wikipedia, was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist, who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association.
What has happened on Twitter, beyond those upset about Google’s decision to once again not recognize the Easter holiday, is that people have confused Cesar and Hugo Chavez. The later of course being the recently deceased dictator of Venezuela.
Of course once a few people on Twitter begin tweeting about something like this, indicating that Google preferred to recognize a dictator instead of Easter, things go viral very quickly. In the same way that death rumors have easily gotten out of control on Twitter numerous times many folks jump in on a series of tweets and just go with it. They key item in the wrong info going viral is the failure to verify what they are sharing or retweeting and whether or not it is factual.
Now granted, some things are tough to verify, especially with breaking news items but this one could have easily been sorted out by visiting the Google homepage and clicking on the image of Cesar Chavez.
So a moment of verification, when it is possible, can save a lot of tweet retractions.
Interestingly enough this is not the first time Twitter users have been confused between these two very different individuals.
via WindowsObserver.com http://www.windowsobserver.com/2013/03/31/how-twitter-can-go-viral-and-get-it-wrong/
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