As you will know the world did not end. This is the time for the UK. It would be a couple of hours earlier in Jerusalem. This is by no means the end of it. They are already setting the next date to scare us, with several different dates already for October. I've debunked a dozen dates in the past since last summer each of which got vulnerable people scared. So is there anything we can do about this? This may be a good time to sign a couple of petitions to influence journalists and YouTube to stop adding their support to this scary nonsense in the future. 


Some pages have timers counting to 24th September and some to various times in between. So here is one counting down to the time NOT the end of the world on 24th here in Scotland. It is all BS anyway.
  

It's easy to make your own timer like this. Just go here, you have to create an account and sign in first. You then get the html code to embed into a page and the code also includes a url for a page on the site itself as you will see if you click on this one..

DOOMSDAY DEBUNKED GROUP

If you are affected -our group is there to help. Do join it - follow the link  Doomsday Debunked. or if that doesn't work for you, search for "Doomsday Debunked" in facebook.

THIS STEAMING BULLSHIT

I could continue to write all day about this steaming BS that David Meade is serving up for your delectation with the support of the Daily Express.

If you want to find out more and debunk any particular story - well see my Debunking Doomsday blog. And many more get shared on the Doomsday Debunked facebook group and debunked there.

WHY DOES IT MATTER

If any journalists from the Sun, Daily Express, Daily Star, etc are reading this - I'm sure you have no idea how your stories are affecting people.

Children as young as 12 were terrified by the stories you ran. It is entirely possible that some children and vulnerable young parents with young babies may well have killed themselves.

I've been contacted by children still at school, who said they have thought of suicide. Some say they don't think they would still be here if they hadn't read my debunking articles or joined our group Doomsday Debunked. I know that many suicide attempts are not successful but from what these people tell me about how they have felt suicidal it is very likely that there have been some attempts at least. The ones who find us are surely just a small fraction of those affected by these storiesSome may have succeeded. If they didn't leave a note, nobody might know why they did it.

So to journalists - for those of you who write these fake stories about the world about to end, please just stop doing it, and debunk them instead. I know that there are many who enjoy sensational and even fake news. But when you readers are becoming suicidal as a result, this is taking sensationalism too far by a mile. You can see my articles for examples of how to write entertainingly debunking them, and there are several others online, for instance a couple by the Washington Post (this one and this one). Also the astronomer Phil Plait in his post Will the Earth be destroyed this Saturday? hint: NO

Once again, if anyone reading this is a journalist for a sensationalist paper, or knows journalists - do try to use your influence to raise awareness of the effects of these stories on vulnerable people, especially very young children. Children as young as 12 are reading these stories and getting scared out of their wits! No children should have to go through this, over this pile of stinking BS.

Young parents with babies are the other ones most vulnerable. They are scared and protective of their babies and are afraid they won't grow up to be adults because the world is about to end. Again they shouldn't have to go through this either.

TWO PETITIONS

Journalists for the sensationalist press promote the stories, and indeed, dramatize them with scary images and article titles and summaries. YouTube run ads on the doomsday videos which are providing an income of up to thousands of dollars a month for some YouTube channels that churn out these videos at a rate of several a week.

The scared and suicidal people that contact us invariably mention these as the two main things that got them scared originally, and that keep them scared.

There is no need for either of these activities. Journalists can debunk the stories or ignore them. It is surely not their intention to make their readers suicidal. YouTube can pull the ads on these videos - they already have a policy of not running ads on objectionable videos of many sorts. Surely YouTube don't intend to support uploaders who earn  a fortune from videos that make the viewers suicidal?


If you agree please sign and share these petitions. And do look at the comments - click on "Join the conversation" at the end of each petition to see all the comments by people affected by these issues. And do add your voice there as well yourself if you sign the petition.

I don't actually know who to send these petitions to. And there is no target number of signatures - the site automatically adds targets but when you reach them it just increases to the next. If you have a suggestion of who to send them to do say. My idea is mainly just to get lots of people signing, sharing, commenting on them and generally making a fuss and hope someone who is in a position to do something about it notices / is affected and acts or suggests something we can do to take it further forward.

SEE ALSO

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

Any questions, comments, anything do say in the comments here. And do join our facebook group. Doomsday Debunked. Great group of people there who will help you if you are scared. Also do join if you are a scientist or astronomer and want to help these scared and sometimes suicidal people. Thanks!