Landon Spradlin Died from COVID-19

We knew there would be stories like this, didn’t we? Even though I had not previously heard of him, I‘m truly sad to learn (from a Newsweek article) that Landon Spradlin, a 66-year-old pastor and traveling musician, has died from COVID-19. I see the picture of this guy in the article, and he looks fairly young and healthy for 66 years old. 

This man earlier claimed COVID-19 was being hyped by the liberal press, to do damage to President Trump’s reputation. I wanted to learn more, so I went to his Facebook page, and found the meme he had posted, with totally bogus numbers and message, claiming that the H1N1 swine flu was far more lethal than COVID-19, and also falsely claiming that the previous administration didn’t take it seriously.

Facebook, which is now doing independent fact checking (which infuriates people who propagate their own agendas by spreading lies), had flagged the graphic as being untrue. They also referenced a very informative article, that explains why you can’t compare a disease which is barely getting started here (and still spreading like wildfire), with a disease that has completely run its course, and was 10 times less lethal.

Y’all be safe out there, please! Wash your hands! Don’t touch your face! Keep your distance!

And please, let's all cross–check our facts, before sharing any memes, *especially* if they really ring a responsive chord in you. Take a deep breath, and realize that fact checkers are not the enemy, simply because they find that something we believe in strongly, is false. Maybe we should research it more deeply, and try to identify and reconsider a false belief to which we may have been clinging.