The experiment that almost fooled everyone

Sometimes all it takes is a well-made image, a few invented lines and the right timing - and suddenly a complete social media wave takes off that no one can catch again. That is exactly what happened in the past hours. An alleged Trump post about his "FIFA peace prize", decorated with absurd phrasing and an invented "Fifanian people", was shared. Without any notice, without checking, without the slightest sense of responsibility. What many do not see is that such fabrications hinder our work enormously because they eat up time, blur trails and overshadow real news.

Percentage estimate based on comments

Total comments analyzed: 250

• 52 % believed it or considered it at least plausible
• 34 % were uncertain
• 14 % recognized immediately that it was a fake

We honestly find it intense that operators who describe themselves as serious spread such things without labeling and thereby fuel exactly what they claim to fight. Anyone who looks more closely at the original immediately sees the errors - from typos to grammatical slips. But wrapped in the familiar design, even nonsense looks believable. And suddenly people are discussing an island that never existed, a people someone made up on the spot, and achievements that are as real as an eight day week calendar. This is how right wing parties operate, and misinformation about right wing populists strengthens the right wing populist, because he can say "See, I was right" - and we do not want that, do we?

Our short conclusion is this: Check such reports before you pass them on. There are enough people who think every piece of nonsense is a masterstroke. Even Trump has limits, hard to believe, but yes .... This experiment has shown how quickly it happens - and why we have to stay alert.