What are the rules regarding posting false misleading info?

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What are the rules regarding posting false and or misleading information in News and Current Events?

The news and current events is full of fake news really, but not always posted on purpose, as some people just happen to believe it.
But there should be some sort of rule against it during this pandemic, because everyone on the planet are desperate for answers and are incited with fear and uncertainty, so reading fake news could be misleading and triggering. I've had outbursts here and accidentally broke WP rules because of being highly triggered by posts in the news and current events.
At the moment it's all about the American election which doesn't interest me, but at least it's a break from all the scary COVID news at the moment.

It is OK, if you can get away with it, like in the American media.

There is presently no rule against false or misleading content, although of course it is prohibited if it happens to break one of the other rules. For example, it would not be acceptable to post misleading information that was racist, or to use false information to belittle or provoke other users, but the falseness of the information doesn’t have a great deal of bearing on that.

As WrongPlanet is a relatively low traffic forum, I don’t think there is a need for institutional fact-checking or anything like that. When people post misleading information about the pandemic then they can be corrected by the userbase. Maybe that might change in the future if we did have a serious problem with conspiratorial content adversely affecting the site, or the site started to be used as a hotbed of misinformation, but as it stands I don’t think some randomer bei N wrong on here causes any real-world harm.

Provoking, trolling, baiting other users is mainly what comes to mind. Like someone is asked to cite questionable info they posted or a questionable claim they made, and they'll post links to news stories that have little if anything to do with it.

It is not my experiments with clickbait? Clickbait is new to me so I had to try it out now I know what it means, though I have done it in the past without knowing that it aas called clickbait. I had heard the term but I dis jot know what it was.

If someone says that Trump was right in celebrating what the MAGA folks in Texas did to the Biden people in the bus they surrounded, then I would call that "clickbait."

As long as no one can claim personal offense, there are no such rules.

If there are, however, I have never seen them enforced.

However, asking for proof of claim is enough to get one's posts deleted and a stern warning from the mods.

In and of itself, this is false.

However, persisting with demands for evidence despite where the OP of a thread has and continues to plead that their thread is for light-hearted fun and not a serious, evidence-backed discussion - will very likely earn a reprimand.

You refer to only one thread.  I refer to many.

It all seems to depend on how much sympathy the OPs can garner from the mods.

In News and Current Events, it is expected (though not enforced) to provide a source link for the info you give.
If one provides a link to fake news, the responsibility falls to the news company, not WP nor OP - unless one links OnionNews, BabylonBee or something like that as a serious source. In such case, a clarification is needed.

In My Opinion, the only subforum where "Evidence, please?" should never be asked is The Haven.

Last edited by Fnord on 09 Nov 2020, 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

It's often the same situation in those other threads, too.
Also, the mod team is not omnipresent; we rely to an extent on reports from WP members.

Yes, we're quite often accused of not being impartial - it comes with the job, but still doesn't reflect the reality of what we do.
Also, such complaints are most often made by those failing to heed earlier warnings.

Then why should there be any issue with false and misleading information when it is being all but encouraged?

In most cases that cause problems it's not the question itself, more the relentless persistency with which it's asked - despite requests from other posters.

No worries, I try to NOT post in The Haven (although mistakes do happen), because even with the best of intentions, instances of Fnord Derangement Syndrome have arisen, and it is simply better for me to stay out of there..