Actual Lawyer Reminds Us Why We Shouldn’t Believe Everything We See On Facebook

A Georgia lawyer is debunking a series of viral videos discussing the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

Robert H. Patillo, II is Clark Atlanta University and Chicago-Kent College of Law graduate and has practiced law in the state of Georgia for 12 years. After watching videos from YouTuber "Officer Tatum" that seemingly questioned Arbery's innocence, Patillo says he felt it was necessary to correct the misinformation from the former officer; who the attorney claimed was "wrong about nearly every legal principle in the case."

I'd also like to pause to say that I'm a DJ and a radio host. I'm not a legal expert. My opinions or feelings about issues like these (or anything for that matter) are no more or less valid than yours. But I also know that experts and professionals exist in just about every field, and while I recognize they are also human, more times than not these experts are far more well versed on topics pertaining to their field than I could ever be without the proper education or training.

I say all that to get to my next point, which is encouraging you to always do your own research (even if it's a quick Google search) before falling for well-produced videos online or the first internet loudmouth who uses buzz phrases like "think about it," or "share this before it gets taken down," or "THEY don't want you to see this."

Here's what Patillo had to say about Tatum's video (which I've linked below his for reference).

This world is full of opinions, but (real) facts are facts. And just because someone SAYS what they're spewing are facts doesn't always mean that's the case. It's quite possible that they got just got to you first. A tweet from former officer/judge turned lawyer Charles Adams sums it up quite nicely.

Again, this isn't to sway your opinion more than it is about being sure we at least attempt to do our own common sense research things like this—especially if we choose to take a public stance one way or the other.

Be smart. Be nice. Love each other. And most of all, be informed.