The shocking headline:
ICE BUCKET FRAUD: ALS FOUNDATION ADMITS THAT 73% OF DONATIONS ARE NOT USED FOR ALS RESEARCH
You can read the article here. It’s on the internet, so it must be true, right?
Strangely enough the headline is true (except is 1% off) but the article is VERY misleading. I wasn’t planning to blog today, but this really got to me and so here it is.
This pie chart is taken from alsa.org and shows their expenditure in 2013. It does show that only 28% was spent on research meaning that 72% was not spent on this important work.
The article with the shocking headline seems to imply you are an idiot for donating to the ALS Association because they are only spending such a small percentage on charitable activities and they are pocketing the rest.
The sad thing is that the people who wrote the article know that lots of people will believe the headline without checking the facts. The pie chart shows that 19% was also spent on patient and community services and 32% was spent on education, so in total 79% of expenditure was on charitable work. The article is very, very, misleading. It also relates to 2013 before the ice bucket challenge, the 2014 figures should show a much higher percentage spent on research.
When you read something on the internet do you believe it? Like those links on Facebook saying that Tesco want to give you £100 and if you click on them you can claim it. Do Tesco really exist to give each of us £100? Doesn’t it sound a bit suspicious to you?
When you hear something about someone do you believe it? For those of you who know me, what if you heard a rumour that I am Batman, would you believe it? What if you heard a rumour that I was a thief, would you believe it? What if you heard a rumour that I was human would you believe it?
When we hear or read stuff, let’s check it out before passing it on. When hearing something about a person, ask yourself if it sounds true before believing it. You can still check it out, just don’t go spreading rumours, instead find out what really happened.
The more time I spend on the internet, the more sceptical I become about things I read. I am a person of Faith but faith and investigation and truth are not opposites.
I am a Christian because following Jesus has changed my life. It works for me and makes a huge difference in my life, why not check it out for yourself?
