Vera's Truth

     Social media is in every aspect of our lives and many of us get our news from there. Let’s be real: it is so much easier to look at a summary post or watch a quick reel or youtube short rather than actually reading a long, boring news article online. It’s more of a convenience rather than intentional.       Last semester, I took a class here at TCU with the Honors College called Life Online. In this class, we covered almost every aspect of social media including mental health, scams, data privacy, and algorithms. From there, I became more familiar and aware of the dangers of falsehood that surround us daily. Just as shown in the youtube video titled “ Are You Living an Insta Lie? Social Media Vs. Reality,” many of the things we see online are fake. Not just the news but also the lifestyles that people live. In response, this affects us. It affects our mood and the knowledge of what we think is true. Social media platforms such as tiktok, instragam...

     When listening to stories or reading about swindlers like Parker, Lustig, Abagnale, or Ponzi, I immediately roll my eyes at their actions. I ask why would someone do such things? Or Who in their right mind would fall for things like that? However, as I read other classmates' blogs and heard their stories in class, I realized that we are all subject to swindling or being swindled. In addition, upon self reflection, I realize that I myself may have been subject to swindles or have “swindled” others. Maybe not in extreme manners like the characters that we talked about, but rather in a fun light-hearted manner of “tricking” others.      I remember one particular instance in which I attempted to swindle my mom back when I was in middle school. I remember my mom receiving a scam call from the IRS one Saturday evening stating something about her taxes although they had obviously been taken care of. I watched her listen to the message and panic out of confusi...

The High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) was established in 1993 as a research facility located in Gakona, Alaska. It is operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and formerly funded by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and DARPA. Its purpose is to study the ionosphere (the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere) by transmitting high-frequency radio waves and measuring how the ionosphere responds What is believed:  Some people think it caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia It is a giant device with the power to manipulate the weather.  With over 180 antennas, the most popular theory is that it is a secret government mind-control facility.  It may be involved in geophysical warfare (triggering earthquakes or volcanic activity) How it evolved:  The conspiracy arose from the preexisting notion about government secrecy and power. Because the site is remote, has a large array of antennas, and was tied to military funding, it became known for specul...

       Last class, we covered historical hoaxes and frauds. It is evident that human history is rich in stories of deception, from manipulations on an individual level to grand schemes that can affect the lives of many. Knowing that we are going to talk about conspiracy theories in the upcoming class, I wondered what is the difference between a hoax and a conspiracy. I know they are not the same thing, but I feel like they are mistakenly used interchangeably. My research led me to find that a hoax is a deliberate deception in which someone creates or spreads false information with the intent to trick people. It is usually with the intent to fool, entertain, or profit from others. A conspiracy, on the other hand, is a belief in deception where those presenting the information genuinely believe their claims. It is usually not proven, and involves complex plots, powerful organizations, or government cover-ups.      As briefly mentioned in class and will b...

     Jeff Guinn’s visit to our class on October 21st was almost a surreal experience for me. I don’t think that I have ever met an author of a book in person, let alone someone who is so knowledgeable on a historical event that not many of us know about. I had never heard of the Branch Davidians and I almost feel ashamed because Waco is considered our backyard compared to the vast lands of Texas. I really appreciated that he was just stating facts rather than trying to sway the class into one way of thinking. He left us to critically think and decide for ourselves how we feel about the situation and the parties involved. One of the first things that Mr. Guinn mentioned is that 1993 was the first time in American history that there was television coverage. The group presenting after posed a question that stated “how do you think media played a role and is media more political now?” This question stood out to me, and I want to spend some time discussing it.   ...

       As many others in class last week, it was my first time hearing of the White Slave Trade hysteria. It is saddening much like many things that happened in history. Unfortunately, history really does repeat itself or we just don’t learn from our past mistakes. As of 2023, there are 19 licensed brothels in Nevada, and who knows how many illegal ones around the United States.       On a brighter note, however, we have come a long way in terms of women safety in the streets, but the fear still does run because of preconceived notions. Before I first started here at TCU, I never had a fear of going shopping alone or taking a walk around my home. Coming to TCU and being far from home instilled in me a new fear of walking out of class at night. I even purchased pepper spray to place on my keychain, which I never used, but had for the feeling of being able to defend myself in the event of harm. In addition, reading stories on social media of abducti...