We need better media literacy in this country
Summary
A straphanger calls for better media literacy in America, and Kareem's more than ready to agree. The rider shares a simple rule: if an account has more than two digits in the handle, it's a red flag. Don't trust it. But with everyone screaming "fake news" from all sides, how do people actually figure out what's real? The answer is treating news consumption like grocery shopping. Read the labels. Check credibility and track records, especially with independent journalists covering places like Gaza. The conversation takes an unexpected turn when the rider declares that not using a bidet is a sign of being uncivilized, prompting Kareem to joke that this might be the interview that gets him fired.
Full Transcript
So what's your take? We need better media literacy in this country. 100% agree. I feel like people have lost their minds with like everything that is at stake and everything that is happening in this country. I need people to be more aware of where they're getting their information and what exactly they're exposing themselves.
Tell that to my mom. My mom sent me an article the other day that said Donald Trump's daughter has converted to Islam. The website was called like IslamConversion.net. And that's actually a legit website though. But no, but listen, my problem is this. Like if you're retweeting or re-sharing or reposting uh an account that has more than two digits in the handle, that is a code red. That's a bad actor. Absolutely don't trust that.
But here's the problem. We got one side being like, "That's fake news." We got the other side being like, "That's fake news." And then we got a bunch of people on the internet just doing whatever they want, saying Donald Trump's daughter is converted to Islam. How the hell are we supposed to figure it out? At the end of the day, you got to be able to trust some of the sources, but you have to do your own diligence in the information that you're consuming. You go into a supermarket in this country and you've got like 20 different types of zero-calorie water and everyone's like reading the back of the labels and what's syrup and what's not, what's going in it, what's not. You got to do the same for news. Look at the people. Do they have a track record of putting out decent information? A lot of great independent journalists out there. There are a lot of very good independent journalists. Look what's happening right now in Gaza. All those people are independent journalists. They're relying on what's happening on the ground from firsthand accounts. That is totally legit. But do they have a track record? Do they consistently provide information in a credible way? That's the most important thing. Credibility.
A very important take. Anything else you're thinking about? Um, people that do not use a bidet is a sign of being uncivilized. 100% agree. People are walking around with dirty buttholes. I mean, they think that the Middle East is this filthy, dirt, disgusting place. At least everyone has a clean butt. It's amazing.
I've survived a lot of things in news, but this may be the one interview that gets me fired.