News Flash - Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet

From lordsofpain.com:

The worldwide web is a funny thing. At times, it can be a reliable source of information. 99% of the people reading this column have used Google and/or Wikipedia at lest once to assist them with their school work or find out the "truth" about something they heard about on the radio, on TV, whatever. Whether Wikipedia is a reliable source of information tends to be ignored - people have been using the online encyclopaedia for years and will continue to do so. For many, the internet is a very helpful tool.

However, the issue at hand is that websites like Wikipedia are NOT 100% trust-worthy. Since the website allows any one capable of pressing the 'edit' button to post information about anything and everything, you probably should double-check your findings with other sources of information. As in, quotes, proven statistics, or printed material. Those are all reliable, hard-to-debate sources.

Unfortunately, the majority of dirt sheets (including wrestling ones, believe it or not) are NOT reliable sources of information - hence the name 'dirt sheets'. How many times have you logged on to LOP and saw a headline that read, "Backstage talk on CM Punk" (just an example). Chances are, the article probably was a summation of random people who viewed punk in a negative light. Now, there's a good chance that article didn't contain any quotes. Furthermore, I doubt any names were dropped. This leads me to conclude that Camera Man X and Mid-Carder Y share a mutual feeling that Punk is not liked backstage, and somehow word got out on the internet.

Folks, I love being a card-carrying member of the Internet Wrestling Community, but I don't believe most of what I read on the internet and neither should you. While many people complain that websites like LOP get most of their "news" by following every superstar, diva, and company employee on Twitter, I'm okay with it. I would much rather learn about RAW going three hours permanently starting July 23 because John Cena posted the news on Twitter than read an article titled, "RAW Possibly Becoming A Three-Hour Show?" You can call it 'lazy reporting', but at least I'm getting hit with facts, not gossip.

At the same time, opinions should never be mistaken for facts. Today, former WWE Creative Team member Seth Mates wrote on Twitter that Triple H did indeed bury wrestlers throughout his career and Mates shared his theory with his followers. Now, the whole 'Triple H holding back other guys' debate is a complicated one that I won't get into today, but as someone else noted, the headline was poorly worded. The article was titled, "Former WWE Creative Writer Explains Why Triple H Buries Top-Level Wrestlers". Right off the bat, that's an unfair title. For years, people have speculated on the issue, but there has never been any proof. A former WWE employee is not means of proof. Seth Mates gave his opinion, he didn't tweet about receiving text messages from Vince McMahon telling him to bury in the storylines, or book poorly. Mates gave his two cents, and many websites are falsely reporting it as news.



If anything, the article should have been named, "Former WWE Creative Writer Weighs In On Triple H's Past" or "Former WWE Creative Writer Claims Triple H Buries Top-Level Wrestlers", because honestly, that's what the article was about - a man sharing his opinion. When Jim Ross says on Twitter or in a blog that CM Punk is the best pure wrestler in the world today, that is J.R. giving his perspective on Punk, it doesn't make it a fact. When Kelly Kelly goes shopping. buys herself a boob job and posts a picture online, well, that's a fact, even though I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'news'.

The point of today's column is to show there's a difference between fact and opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and maybe there's some truth in it. When you look outside your window and see that it's cloudy, you might assume it's going to rain - that's your opinion. But until the first raindrop falls on your head, you're wrong, and that's okay. Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, but problems arise when people begin mixing opinion with truth. Websites like LOP are so addictive because wrestling fans like me and you get a kick out of gossiping about the sport we love. It's so much fun to discuss rumours and weigh in with our thoughts.

The fun ends when you start taking rumours seriously. If you read lots of rumours about Stone Cold Steve Austin returning to face CM Punk at Wrestlemania 28, then you were probably disappointed. Not once did Austin say, "I'll be at WM28 to wrestle Punk - see you there!". It was nothing but rumours being spread like wildfire, and many people believed it.

Anyone can provide a Wikipedia biography for Martin Luther King, and anyone can start "backstage rumours" about wrestling. So use the internet. Enjoy it. Have fun! Just don't believe everything you read...