Any way to find out if my niece is serious?

[gingerzing]

My young adult niece (about 22) has be a FB friend for quite a while with me. 
I wonder if there is a good way to find out if a recent post that she had up is her joking around. 
Without getting too into the particulars it is a conspiracy thing tying two separate incidents together with photos of the same person at both places. 

Mostly I want know if it is a joke or if she believes this sillyness.  (she normally doesn't tend toward fringe stuff like this) 

I am not sure that a post directly on her wall would be a good idea.  I am thinking if I do call her out on it, that I would rather send a PM about it. 
The other thought I had was to send her a link of picture I saw with the six actresses that all look alike (one is Katy Perry and the other is Zoey Deschanel, the others I am not sure that I have heard of)

Or is this just a case of hiding it and ignoring it? 

[Shoo]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

[Twik]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

[amylouky]

I guess I'm wondering why it matters.. if it's something that could harm her or someone else, like a post saying that drinking bleach will cure acne, then yeah I'd say something. But otherwise? I don't see anything to be gained by asking her if she really believes what she is posting, and you run the risk of offending her.
If you really just have to know, maybe you can tell by the comments she posts/receives?

[ladymaureen]

If it's what I'm thinking of, it's highly offensive and distressing, involving a government conspiracy, a high-profile incident, and a picture that appears to show the same person before and after the incident. Even if it's not what I'm thinking of, it's probably something else that makes the OP wonder "what the ...."

I really don't think there's a way to ask a grown person if he or she is serious. Just let it roll off and ignore it. I  know, harder to do than say, but I think that's the path of etiquette.

[oogyda]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

[Yvaine]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

Well, if it's what I think it is, it isn't just a harmless sort of legend, it really is horribly offensive as ladymaureen has said, and spits in the face of some badly hurting people and has led to some of them being harassed. I would defriend for this in any case other than a close relative. It being a close relative muddies things a bit, and I might just hide their feed to resist the temptation to unload exactly what I think of it.

[Sharnita]

oogyda, let's say it is a link saying your family committed genocide with photos rigged to look like it was true. Would a snopes link that disproved the claim be petty oneupmanship or might it serve a public good?

[Surianne]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

I agree, I'm not sure why you feel the need to get involved here.  Without more information* I'd say stay out of it.

*Some other posters seem to know what you're talking about, OP, but I have no idea.

[oogyda]

oogyda, let's say it is a link saying your family committed genocide with photos rigged to look like it was true. Would a snopes link that disproved the claim be petty oneupmanship or might it serve a public good?
[/quote

I don't know.  Since I, like others, don't know what you're talking about, I can't make that determination.

Unless you can be specific, please do not scold me or others who aren't in the know.

[Sharnita]

I wasn't scolding you.

[wendelenn]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

No, the "it really irritates me when people spread blatant absolute stupidity and false information--and in this case, absolutely revolting false information" thing. (I'm pretty sure I know what the OP is talking about, snopes *has* debunked it, and the lie is absolutely *not* harmless.)

[Yvaine]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

No, the "it really irritates me when people spread blatant absolute stupidity and false information--and in this case, absolutely revolting false information" thing. (I'm pretty sure I know what the OP is talking about, snopes *has* debunked it, and the lie is absolutely *not* harmless.)

Yeah, if it's what I'm thinking, it's not "Repost this and Bill Gates will give you a free iPad" (yes, I did that on purpose to be silly). It concerns a major crime and slanders a lot of people who were hurt by it.

[Docslady21]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

I think that's a bit disingenuous. If I sent a Snopes link, it's because I don't want my friend to look stupid for propagating a hoax. It's not because "I know more/am better." You wouldn't want a friend to walk around with her dressed tucked into her pantyhose, and some of these emails/facebook posts/images are just that--potential embarrassment. Of course, I email the link in private. The same way I would quietly pull her aside and inform her of a pantyhose mishap. I wouldn't scream, "Holy heck, your panties are showing!!" =)

[Aeris]

You want to send her a message indicating you think something she might believe is "sillyness?"

That's not likely to go over well.  What do you hope to accomplish?

Probably the same thing people want to do when they send Snopes links.

Oh, you mean the "I know more/better than you." thing?

No, the "it really irritates me when people spread blatant absolute stupidity and false information--and in this case, absolutely revolting false information" thing. (I'm pretty sure I know what the OP is talking about, snopes *has* debunked it, and the lie is absolutely *not* harmless.)

Exactly. Perpetuating false and harmful misinformation, especially when the sender can't be bothered to research their sources, is not something anyone is required to stand idly by for - nor should they.

If you put "information" out into the public discourse, you should be prepared for it to be commented upon, questioned, and even possibly, heaven forbid, refuted.