Let this be an example of why you never judge something just based off face value. I've seen multiple sites claim that Missouri is the most dangerous state for online dating. There's only one problem with that. The claims are simply not true. Not even close.

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If you Google "Missouri Most Dangerous State for Online Dating", you'll see probably a dozen websites come up that have an article claiming that's true. Almost all of them reference this study done by the Background Checks website. My guess is that many people don't take the time to go to the source website to verify what's being said. I did and it's not accurate. Here's a map I can share here showing what the real study says.

Infographic, Background Checks
Infographic, Background Checks
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Is Missouri really the most dangerous state to look for love online? Nope. #20 out of 50 isn't something to necessarily brag about, but it's not close to the worst either. That honor goes to Alaska. Illinois is #34, by the way.

In fairness to some of the sites, studies they shared sometimes go back 5 years or more and data changes. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they at least thought they were sharing accurate info at the time. Many are major sites with very reputable journalists, so I'd hope so.

I share this as an example of taking an extra second to verify wild claims when you see them. It might sound outrageous for the sake of encouraging people to share it, but it needs to be accurate also. I challenge myself to do that every single day and I hope more of the internet will effort to be more responsible, too.

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