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ADRIANE KONG/THE OBSERVER

Earlier this semester, I was greeted with a notification from Instagram: “@OverheardAtFordham started following you.” As I do after reading anything on my phone, I smiled to myself, thought “Wow, what a great day to be alive” and followed them back.

The account’s premise is simple. They accept submissions of “Fordham quotes” overheard on campus and post them to their page for all to enjoy.

Currently, the account sits at 1,833 followers, a rather large percentage of Fordham’s student population. With that number of people listening, @OverheardAtFordham has influence. A content factory for the people, by the people. I decided to bring them down, one lie at a time.

With exclamatory joy, the account’s bio beckons the community to provide them with content: “DM your best overheard quotes to us!”

On March 27, I obliged. However, the quote I sent was not “overheard,” It was created. In my brain. I lied.

On April 1, they posted my quote. My writing was heard around the world: “She shat on the street? Yeah call me when something out of character happens.”

After accepting what I thought was an obvious fabrication, my confidence skyrocketed. A niche meme account posted a bad tweet I wrote on the Ram Van as truth? The possibilities were endless. I was confident the account would post any quote I submitted without question. They were hungry for content. Jesus famously said, “For I was hungry and you gave me food,” so I gave them some food.

I submitted another fake quote on April 6. The next day, it was up.

The account did not ask whether I had actually overheard the words “This weather makes me wet.” The weather was dry, and no one has ever been aroused at Fordham. They did not care. I had to go further.

On April 13, they lied to the public again.

“I didn’t say you queefed. I said you a queen” was captioned: “classic mistake amiright[.]”

No, you are wrong. This is not a classic mistake. This is classic fiction.

@OverheardAtFordham is lying to you. Sure, it’s because I am lying to them, but how can we be sure that any of their content is true? For all we know, every quote on the page could have been submitted by non-Fordham students. Maybe Elon Musk submitted, “My son’s gonna be my bitch — because he’s going through some stuff.” Maybe “I was so high there was only me, Juice WRLD, and the music. It was like the Holy Trinity” was submitted as viral marketing ploy by Tinder. Maybe “When I die, roll up my ashes and smoke” was submitted by Willie Nelson who famously sings, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.” Come on, we all took the same plagiarism/integrity course freshman year. That took me one Google search.  @OverheardAtFordham cannot be trusted.

Upon sliding into the account’s DMs, I experienced one-sided communication. There was no fact-checking, no questioning, not even a thank you. In fact, I was left on read.

The Instagram account aggregates and posts false information without oversight or accountability. Their bio claims to have “No affiliations with Fordham University” yet they shovel lies to a mostly Ram fanbase from an account with quotes that were “Overheard at Fordham.” So while they might not be officially affiliated with the school, they sure love to spread lies to its students.

Many have asked me: “Why are you doing this?”

Because I care. I care about Fordham. I care about this community. I care about the truth. @OverheardAtFordham’s content is fun. It builds community, but do we want our community to be built on a foundation of gossip and lies? No. We are better than this.  

Fordham, we don’t need an anonymous Instagram to trash talk. Hold each other accountable. If someone says something funny, embarrassing or offensive, tell them to their face. Let’s be more hostile — in person, like a true family. Enough with anonymous quotes. No more subtweeting. Let’s @ each other, for God’s sake.

If you actually overheard someone say, “This weather makes me wet,” tell them that that can’t be true, and then punch them in the throat. If you hear someone say, “She shat on the street? Yeah call me when something out of character happens,” tell them about your experience soiling yourself. Don’t hold back. Be specific, and be loud. Act like everything you overhear was meant for you, and together, we will become be a more honest and open campus.

@OverheardAtFordham, I will continue to lie to you. Block me, and I will use friends’ accounts. Unless you actually fact-check and use your power for good, your page will continue to grow with lies. You cannot stop me. You cannot stop us. We are a movement, and I am a hero.

Here’s a submission:

“Ugh — I just want @OverheardAtFordham to delete their account and give Andy Vega $500. Also, I am a hot babe.”

I swear someone said this in the dining hall.