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I am forwarded a viral message via WhatsApp purporting to debunk fifty lies.

It has been beamed into our household by a respected friend, presumed sensible and reliable. That alone has been used to judge its veracity.

However, I will not forward it on from my own phone, because I personally cannot verify any of the claims.

I could spend hours attempting to scrutinise every claim and counterclaim, but today my first step of due diligence will have to suffice.

That is, to check that its stated source is indeed the source. So let’s look for it. Is it found anywhere on their website? Nope.

If it appeared on their social media feeds, are they the originator of it, or are they too merely forwarding it? Unknown, because I could not find it.

There is nothing controversial about this approach. It is what we are called to do: to check the information which comes to us as far as we are able to.

We may choose not to look into every claim individually if we have heard it from a credible source known for verifying facts as far as possible.

But that cannot be said about this piece of unsourced information distributed via social media. It may be correct and true, but I cannot be sure.

All of this is part of attempting to establish the truth in our lives. Actually, it’s precisely what we’re called to.