The last few weeks have shown the power of misinformation, especially when social media is used to increase prejudice and drive people apart.  It can seem like a very modern phenomenon – a child of the age of Facebook and X aka twitter.  But the word ‘misinformation’ is in fact remarkably old, first used in the late 1500s, and the problem far older.  For we human beings have a tendency to shift and rework stories and ideas in ways that suit our interests, sometime subtly and innocently, sometime with more sinister purposes.   And those stories gain their own momentum, changing how we see ourselves and our communities.

In the book of Acts, we hear how the early Christians dealt with the misinformation around them and their faith.  From the start they were cast as seditious troublemakers, betraying the values of their tradition.  Then, when the movement attracted gentiles and ‘foreigners’, there was gossip, rumour, and much anxiety about the influx of strangers.  For the Apostles, though, these were opportunities not for anger or retaliation but to tell once more the true story of God’s relationship with humans, a story of hope and inclusion.   And always their story was backed with evidence, as they used Scripture and history and the resources of their tradition to demonstrate the credibility of what they were saying.   This was no mere opinion, floating free of reality, but truth grounded in more than their own words.  In a world where lies and misinformation can still be so destructive, perhaps we too can take inspiration from their commitment to truth, to evidence, and to the possibility of persuasion.