Deconstructing Memes: Facts do matter, but only when they are verified and sourced

In today’s Deconstructing Memes, I want to look at another meme that is currently being used on social media, a meme that is meant to make claims about the economy as we approach the November Election.

The meme states:

4 YEARS AGO: Dow at 19,000. Today it closed at 41,250. 4 YEARS AGO: unemployment was 9.2%. TODAY: 4.2%. FACTS MATTER!

This meme is deeply problematic and it might be the dumbest I have seen in recent years, for a number of reasons. However, before I get to the reasons why this meme is problematic, let me just say as someone who tries to think critically and has taught media literacy for the past 30 years, one should never assume that what is presented is factual, especially without any sources to back it up. This meme doesn’t provide any evidence or sourcing so that people can verify the claims that are being made.If facts matter, then so do the verification of said fact.

Besides the lack of sourcing for the meme, the first major issue with this meme is the use of the phrase 4 years ago. Four years ago the US (and the rest of the world) was 6 months into one of the worst global pandemics humanity has ever seen. The COVID 19 pandemic resulted in lockdown policies being adopted (like in Michigan), which saw millions of people unable to go to work and support themselves. Of course unemployment was up, because it was too dangerous for people to be at work, especially at jobs that were not front line jobs like health care workers. Of course the DOW would close at a lower number 4 years ago, since the stock market was in a bit of a free fall because of the pandemic. 

Second, people really need to have a better understanding of the economy system. Just because the stock market is doing great doesn’t mean that most of the people are doing great. We know that the majority of stocks are owned by members of the Capitalist Class. According to inequality.org, the richest 1% own a greater share of the stock market than ever before. In fact, only 1% of the stock market wealth is owned by the Bottom half of households in the US. The stability or success of the stock market should not be the measuring stick for how the economy is doing, especially for the majority of the population. Did we not learn anything from the Occupy Wall Street Movement?

Another aspect of the US economy is that even if unemployment is down, it does not translate into people being better off. We should all be asking what kind of wages and benefits people are getting while they are employed, and not just celebrate the fact that they have a job. In July, I wrote about new data from the  ALICE report. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. In that report, it states that 47% for Grand Rapids households are living paycheck to paycheck! Again, just because people are employed doesn’t mean that they are doing ok economically. 

Lastly, memes like these are predicated on the notion that “our side is right” or “our side is better.” Too often we want to show that our political party is better than the opposition. Because of the partisan blinders we have on, it often leads to believing anything that affirms our allegiance, no matter what the truth is. Facts indeed do matter, just make sure that they are sourced and and verified.