{"id":8111,"date":"2024-01-16T08:48:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T13:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=8111"},"modified":"2024-01-24T15:06:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T20:06:52","slug":"january-16-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/january-16-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"January 21, 2024–Social Media Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anders Nilsen, Norfolk, VA<\/b><\/p>\n

Warm-up Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n

How would you know if Jesus was calling you to do something or to follow him?\u00a0<\/span>Do you think you would hear a voice?\u00a0<\/span>Would this call come through other people?\u00a0<\/span>Would it be your intuition?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media Jesus<\/b><\/h4>\n

A little over a year ago, Elon Musk, the billionaire and owner of multiple companies including Tesla, purchased the social media platform Twitter. In a controversial move, Musk made many immediate changes to the way the platform was used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For years before Musk made the purchase, accounts on Twitter who were deemed \u201cauthentic, noble, active, and prominently recognized\u201d were awarded a blue check mark. This tiny symbol awarded the account the status of being \u201cverified.\u201d It is a coveted symbol especially for celebrities, reporters, and other prominent figures because it means that their account cannot be copied or fraudulent. Words are powerful, and when accounts get stolen and fake tweets are sent the damage can be long lasting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the changes that Musk made after purchasing Twitter in November of 2022, was to take away the blue check mark that signified a verified status for everyone, unless they were willing to pay a premium each month. This decision led to chaos. Celebrities were impersonated by people who paid to activate \u201cverified\u201d accounts in their name. Major news networks such as the New York Time<\/i>s had fraudulent accounts spouting fake news in their namesake. For a time, it was a madhouse. (Not that Twitter hasn\u2019t always been.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another controversy that came out of the chaos was that someone created and paid for a verified account named \u201cJesus Christ\u201d, and another, \u201cSatan\u201d. During the time that these accounts held the coveted blue check mark they went back and forth with insults and quips. Hilarious? Yes. Sacrilegious? Probably.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, thousands of people took these little blue check marks seriously. The owner of the \u201cJesus Christ\u201d account received thousands and thousands of prayer requests because people now trusted the account was \u201creal\u201d. It must have been so discouraging for these folks to find out the truth that this account was owned and operated by a regular person and internet troll.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do we know which voices, which accounts, which people, to follow and to listen to? Does a little blue check mark allow us to put our full trust that they will tell us the truth? Or do we need to do some investigation for ourselves?<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n