An unexpected scene creates a gap in that understanding.
But filling that gap with speculation can create problems.
A theory may sound convincing while still being completely wrong. A joke can be mistaken for a serious claim. A caption can change the meaning of a photograph. And a rumor repeated often enough can eventually be mistaken for fact.
That is why responsible storytelling should clearly distinguish between confirmed information, eyewitness observations, and speculation.
Behind the viral headline is still a real person.
The internet has a tendency to turn people into characters in a story. A stranger becomes “the 70-year-old man from the viral video,” and suddenly thousands of people feel as though they know everything about him despite having seen only a few seconds of footage.
They may know almost nothing about his life.
They may not know what happened earlier that day.
And they certainly may not know what he was thinking at that exact moment.
