Megyn Kelly crashes and burns

| 6:00 pm EDT June 24, 2022
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What do fake news, Megyn Kelly, and Pope Francis have in common? Answer — they’re all part of this merry little story. It begins, of course, with speculation. In the crazy world we all share, speculation has often replaced solid journalism as news.

Fake News is now a permanent part of our lives. And if this story teaches us anything, it’s — never make assumptions. Unusual activity had broken out on Twitter. A tweet was sent into Twitter space. It came from the account of one Megyn Kelly. Here is what it said:

“Unusual activity at the Vatican as reports break that Pope Francis may be about to resign. (And we are there!)” – Megyn Kelly – @megynkelly – June 20

Well — as of the time of this writing, Pope Francis has not resigned. Why did she believe this? Kelly said a “priest or bishop unclear” had entered the Sistine Chapel and given her a blessing. What was he doing there, Kelly wondered.

My question is, why WOULDN’T he be there? Megyn also saw “a ton of Cardinals.” I speak not of birds. I say this because of the bird memes popping up all over social media right now from people who couldn’t believe this story was indeed real. I did confirm it.

As several media outlets explained, these Cardinals were likely there because The annual World Meeting of the Families is going on from June 22 through June 26. One knows it’s bad when even Priests join in on the chuckles. “Something odd is happening. People are crossing the street” This was one of thousands, perhaps millions, of sassy responses to this tweet.

And it’s an example. It’s an example of just how fake news is birthed. There are, right now, real people who think Pope Francis has resigned — all because of Kelly’s tweet, which she still has not taken down at the time of this writing.

Let’s make it our mission to combat fake news and call out the people who bring fake news into our corridors. Social Media might not be as crazy, but it will be a heck of a lot more honest.