Where are the believers?

Are they missing from Ukrainian relief efforts?

I serve on the front line of an army dedicated to calling religious brothers and sisters for their ugly, grifting ways, but the above comment has been bouncing around (especially on Twitter) since the despot Vladimir Putin invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine.

The problem is, it’s incorrect. FactCheck.org lays it all out, including the origin story of the meme that came from an organization that has since corrected itself.

Ukrainian support comes from a variety of faiths in the U.S. — including megachurches.

As we know, false tweets have literal wings, and one study says that tweets that include lies are 70% more likely to be shared than true tweets. We also know that information that affirms our firmly-held beliefs is also more share-able. In other words, if we see something that tells us we were right all along (about nutbag COVID treatments, about the propensity of megachurches to keep their members’ contributions for their asshole pastors), we are quick to repeat it. So this bit of misinformation is the horse that’s broken out of the barn, and is now running over the distant hill. And how sad is it that megachurches have such a crappy reputation. I’m not saying it’s unearned, but wow.