Don’t get me wrong: I love ice cream. I’m stranger to no sorbet. Gelato is no less than a gift from the glucose gods. As much as I like ice cream, I dislike fake and misleading news. Recently, the two were swirled together in an online article from local Alabama news network WKRG.
The Mobile news network named Old Dutch Ice Cream Shoppe, a hallmark of my childhood afternoons, the winner of a “Best Ice Cream Shop in the US” competition conducted by Mental Floss. The article, released on August 1, simply confirmed what I and thousands of locals and schoolchildren looking for a sugary after-school treat have always known: Old Dutch Ice Cream produces treats that taste like a hug. I did not and do not dispute the outcome of the competition.
However, it’s concerning that dozens of my high school and hometown friends shared this article without appearing to read the article, much less the opening sentences. The article from Mental Floss actually states the best ice cream shop in every state, not among all 50 states. Old Dutch of course easily won Alabama and could have won all 50, but the article doesn’t provide evidence for that achievement. The article is also written in two different font sizes.
Even if the headline confirms what we may think and believe, it’s possible that headline may misrepresent the true content of its source. Sharing it is then tantamount to sharing false information, which isn’t so sweet.
The problem was not with the Mental Floss article itself or any doubts of the delicious decadence of Old Dutch Ice Cream. In fact, I’d like to review their research methodology, not because I doubt their results, but because I think this would be one delicious study to replicate.
Even, then, perhaps this confluence of best in the state with best in the States was unintentional. Copywriters and editors for local networks often work long, unsociable hours and must make do with smaller and smaller budgets. If this is the case, I mean no harm, but simply intend to call attention to how easily claims can be passed along as true and verified. Especially with click bait and media outlets trying to claim a bigger sliver of screen, it’s of vital importance to check sources before passing along information.
Especially where desserts are concerned.
Echo Foxtrot 
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