Was the news about Mike Tomlin too good to be true?
Afew days ago, I enthusiastically hit “retweet” to share a feel-good story about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. You probably heard about it too: a viral post by Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, who claimed the coach invited a group of kids to practice after he noticed them fighting on the side of a road and stopped his car to break it up.
A few hours after the post went up, Porter, co-founder of a local multi-service campus and community center that works with kids, challenged its veracity. Christy Houston Porter, the wife of former Steeler Joey Porter, said the kids had not been fighting, but had been rewarded with the training camp visit for being “model students.”
I and many others may have been duped into believing — and amplifying — a story that now seems dubious at best. At worst, it may have been flatout wrong or made up. Considering that I work at the News Literacy Project, where we teach people how to recognize fact from fiction, I should have known better. But my experience presents us all with a teachable moment about the many kinds of red flags we should all watch out for.
Use your knowledge. As a near lifelong Steelers fan, I know that Coach Tomlin and the Steelers organization are active in supporting youth football programs in the Pittsburgh community. Fans like me should have known he didn’t have to break up a fight in order to invite kids to the Steelers training camp, as it’s something he and the team do regularly.
Check your emotions. The heartwarming notes of the story were another sign that our emotions were being manipulated. Who can resist the glee of the kids meeting Coach T or interacting with Pro Bowlers such as Najee Harris or T.J. Watt? But positioning the practice in the context of the coach breaking up a fight immediately puts Tomlin in the position of being a hero and driving more people to engage with and share the tweet.
Beware of clickbait and confirmation bias. Glazer’s post got a lot of shares and comments, in part, because people like me wanted it to be true. We crave feel-good stories and want to believe certain people are worthy of our admiration. Mr. Glazer’s tweet got picked up by TMZ, the New York Post, Sports Illustrated and numerous other sports outlets. But when your emotions are driving what you’re sharing, that’s when it’s most important to pull over and take a minute before hitting share or like.
Look for multiple credible sources. Another warning sign that you might not want to share the tweet was that Mr. Glazer was the one and only source, and no other news organization verified the report from Tomlin, the Steelers, the youth sponsoring organization or anyone else. Relying on one source before publishing is more common in the world of sports journalism but is out of step with the standards of quality journalism.
Evaluate the evidence. What evidence did Mr. Glazer have anyway? The “evidence” he offered is simply video of the kids at camp. If you think about it, nothing in the video indicates the kids were actually fighting or how Tomlin came to meet with them. It only shows the students learning some of the skills drills the players do. Out-of-context video is a major red flag when you’re thinking about sharing a post.
It remains unclear if Jay Glazer exaggerated what happened to create a heartwarming false narrative that he knew would draw attention. We hope the situation gets more clarity.
I believed the story because it aligned with my belief that Tomlin is a role model whose example should be followed. The Steelers and Coach T have a long history of being active in the community. It was the kind of thing he would do. I didn’t question the story the way I should have done before sharing.
The lesson: Use your news literacy skills to be aware before you share. Especially if you think it’s a great story.