Oddbean new post about | logout
 RIP x 
 The rumors circulated today thay Noam Chomsky had passed away are NOT true. 
We have spoken to his wife, Valeria, for confirmation today. 

A few major publications have taken down their obviously pre-prepared Chomsky "memorial" articles that were posted earlier today. A little rigor & decency is in order above the race to be first. Let's honor Chomsky's example in this way.  
 So sorry! Wow I thought I could at least trust news sources on something like this. A lot of people been taken for a ride. 
 Yes it was mass confusion yesterday. And to clarify, in calling for rigor and decency i was referring to those publications who shared the fake news without verifying. Not blaming you and others who were just reacting to their announcements.  
 No problem, there were some very ‘credible sources’ reporting it, not some nym on X. I wonder how this sort of news filters in? 

Wishing Mr Chomsky well. 
 On yesterday’s rumor debacle, it’s an interesting reflection of what corporate/mainstream platforms like X elevate. Take Jacobin and The New Statesman, who are both generally considered credible but who ran Noam’s obituaries yesterday without first verifying if he had actually died. This plus millions of tweets blew up in a fake news explosion. 
Both publications gave into pressure to be first, be shocking, and therefore be the most viral over prioritizing journalistic rigor. This is a demonstration of how the media ecosystem pressures publications to seek virality over trust in a systemic way. It’s only logical that if you want to survive and thrive as a publication or journalist, you will respond to the pressure that this structure applies. So though it’s no excuse, we can understand how it happened.
But as users/consumers of media, this does not serve us well at all. 
Hence why we here and at @ZNet are supporters of @rabble , @nos.social , and all who are working to revolutionize a true people’s media via liberatory platforms and structures.  
 Ye that sucked I actually told I guy on twitter x that he was a prick for like what I thought was a sick joke saying that Noam was alive I actually called him a sick fuck but turned out  he actually is still alive jeez 😳