Adam Popescu2013-04-18 21:11:49 UTCFirst it was doctored photos of missiles. Then came a fake stealth fighter and claims of sending monkeys into space. Now Iran has bent the laws of physics and created a time machine that can predict the future.
H.G. Wells is rolling over, six feet under. Doc Emmet Brown just crashed his DeLorean. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are going loopy. But maybe web innovators like Tim Berners-Lee and professional journalists the world over should be just as appalled.
That's because Iran's Fars News Agency is serving up a clinic on how not to break and retract news online. Last week, Fars posted a story on the most amazing invention since indoor plumbing, a device that fits into a computer case, and reportedly predicts your life five to eight years in the future to reveal your marriage age, education, job and even how many children you'll have — just by touching you. It can also, allegedly, forecast the possibility of a military confrontation with a foreign country and fluctuations in foreign currencies and oil prices, with up to 98% accuracy. The meme-worthy story went viral, then the Iranians quickly deleted it. And they didn't go back in time to do that, because the machine is basically a talented fortune teller that doesn't transport you through time.
As all web heads know, the best way to draw attention and garner credibility online is to break news.
As all web heads know, the best way to draw attention and garner credibility online is to break news. News agencies, trained journalists and even beginner bloggers all can play on the level playing field that is the Internet, if their content is unique and compelling enough.
But in this age of constant coverage and satellite image scrutiny, you better be right or face the onslaught of trolls and pundits ready to take pot shots at you. So step back and watch Iran to get a good look at the worst way to digitally shoot yourself in the foot. Here's the formula:
Break major story that seems totally fictitious.
Delete story and take a vow of silence.
Repeat.
This cycle of spin and what appears to be the dissemination of outright lies has caused the world to lose respect for the current Iranian regime, says Josh Lockman, a lecturer at USC on international law and U.S. foreign policy. The news it spews is kind of like The Onion, only The Onion is in on the joke along with the audience. In this case, the jokester doesn't seem to realize we're not buying it.
"It's a trend of completely preposterous claims on issues that range from absurd, monkey in space, to serious, the nuclear program," Lockman says. "This latest incident only underscores the absurdity of claims that the regime in Tehran has made on a variety of issues."
One sobering positive to this viral behavior, Lockman points out, is that in cases like the time travel machine and the enrichment level of uranium for nukes, the credibility of Iran's official news agency has been as watered down as the reality TV show the Shahs of Sunset. Validity becomes more and more diminished because their claims "are simply implausible," says Lockman.
If you want to see just how bizarre the Aryayek Time Traveling Machine is, click this link to the Iranian news service Enetkhab, which posted an interview with Ali Razeghi, the 27-year-old who allegedly built the machine. Fret not that it's in Farsi; you can easily translate the page using Google. It's worth the read.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Matthew71
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