By Nick Reiher

That headline there is an updated paraphrase of a Mark Twain quote. It always has been so much easier to believe gossip or an outright lie, especially if you want to believe it.

Now, we need only to look at social media to see how lies and misinformation spread so quickly. There are ways to stop the spread, but you have to want to. And you have to know how and where to go.

I was having lunch with a friend who is in the age demographic that usually likes hard copy newspapers. I asked him about Farmers Weekly, and he said he scans it at Donut Den sometimes.

That’s one of the places where we drop papers as a courtesy, hoping, of course, you’ll love it enough to want to spend $35 A YEAR ($45 outside Will County) for your own subscription.

He said, nah, he doesn’t read newspapers much anymore. I asked him how he gets his news. He says he talks to friends in his circle about the different local issues like the data centers and the onslaught of solar farms.

“Where do they get their information,” I asked.

“That’s a good question,” he said chuckling.

Indeed.

Having gathered information for newspaper stories of all kinds for a few decades, I can tell you how important sources are: one to get you thinking about a story; two to get another side; and at least a third one to confirm.

And even then, there is no guarantee you wouldn’t need to write another story with yet another facet, or even a correction if all three were, as some say, full of prunes. (You would think that problem would take care of itself. But I digress.)

I was speaking to a group one time, and someone asked how you can tell if a certain newspaper or other medium is reliable.

My answer: They are willing, no, compelled, to issue a correction when they’re wrong, and not double down on it. Or worse keep spreading it, knowing they’ll get a big audience who’ll pay good money to gobble it up.

Conversely, media that tries to present both sides, regardless of what people might think, struggle. If some people don’t see or hear what they like, they think the news is slanted; fake, even.

I’ll tell you this, I would rather retire than be forced to print lies or misinformation. Unfortunately, that is what many of my colleagues across the nation have done.

Which means, when someone says, “Why doesn’t someone do a story about … “, the answer is, there are fewer of us doing them, which means we have less time to do them all. Certainly, the in-depth ones.

So, sources. Let me tell you a tale: I have a friend who knows his audience. One time, he and his wife had just returned from New Orleans, a place my wife and I love so much, we went there for our honeymoon and for our 30^th.

Instead of telling the person about the great music, the food, the history and the World War II Museum, he says he met a guard at the museum who told him how dangerous the city was and to “watch your women closely.”

Now, NOLA has it’s trouble areas, for sure, and like any tourist destination, you have to keep your wits about you. But … geez.

Same storyteller a few years later: Says his brother went to a Marine Corps graduation in California and was told to watch out. The town is so anti-military, cars are getting smashed if people see any sign of armed forces.

That really didn’t sound right, so, I looked it up on the internet. I googled “Marine Corps graduation 2026” and “protests.”

Nothing. Not even from the whack job sites. But it was a good story. Not true. But one that would make some people upset at how military are treated.

I would be, too, if it were true.

Sources.

Do your sources tell you the truth, or what you want to be the truth?

A lot of news is hard to take these days, so many seek affirmation instead of the truth.

I could have told my friend he was wrong, especially in the second instance, but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of others. Frankly, I don’t know if it would have done any good.

I don’t want you to believe, or even like, everything in Farmers Weekly Review, but I want you to know I do my best to make sure it is correct. And if you believe something is not, PLEASE let me know.

Check other sources for your information; not just the ones you agree with. It can get uncomfortable when there are major differences. But truth isn’t always pretty or convenient.

Don’t stop looking for the truth. Don’t be afraid to change your opinions. That’s how we grow personally and as a society.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.