For a few months in 2017, I documented my days via Instagram Stories. One time, I felt particularly feisty. The corridor connecting my college’s cafeteria with the study room is a literal gangway, taken from an actual plane. As I walked through it, I snapped a quick video, tagged it, “Hawaii here I go!” and uploaded it.
Later that day in early spring, I stepped out and shot some more video of me in the sun. When I showed up to a video call with a friend in the afternoon, the first thing he said was this: “You’re in Hawaii dude? Damn! How’d you get there so fast?”
I explained the joke, and we both had a good laugh about it, but the point is only more relevant today than it was back then: Don’t believe everything you see, especially if you’re only seeing it via a screen. My little prank happened long before AI voices, face swaps, and deepfakes. Today, scammers can create actual video footage of the US president and put any message whatsoever into his mouth.
Always verify your information, and unless you receive them via postcard, follow up before enjoying your greetings from Hawaii.
