50 Times Others Caught Stupid People On Facebook And Documented It

Cardaci stated that a simple intervention — asking people to think about the accuracy of the story they read before sharing it — can increase the quality of what people share online. So the researchers randomly selected half of the participants and told them which news stories they identified as accurate were, in fact, false. "We found that subjects who received this informative feedback increased their awareness of the problems related to misinformation and showed a greater desire to act against the risk of being affected by it," he explained.

So even when we can essentially say whatever we want online — whether it’s objectively true or not — and not really have very serious consequences for it, we should all strive to make social media a better place. "Read the story before you share it. Satisfy yourself that it is based on an authoritative source. If it makes you feel an extreme emotion, then be wary — this is often a sign that it is disinformation designed to polarize audiences," Dr. Reilly concluded.

But for now, let’s return to Stupid People on Facebook and their excellent collection of social media fails—there are still plenty of them on this list!