Remember the old “telephone” game we played as children? You know the one … one child whispers to the next, who whispers to the next, on and on down the line. The last child repeats the message to the group and everyone has a good laugh because it’s nothing like the first message sent.
We’re not immune to message breakdown on the Internet. Far from it! The difference is that misinformation grows legs online. It spreads exponentially. And many times that misinformation begins at the source.
Emailed Stories – Truth or Fiction?
Might Barack Obama really be a “radical Muslim,” sworn into office on the Quran, endorsed for President of the U.S. by the Ku Klux Klan, funded by Hugo Chavez, and uncaring toward U.S. soldiers during his July 2008 trip to Afghanistan?
Have all the schools in the UK really removed teaching about the Holocaust from their curriculum?
If we all stop buying gasoline from Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Exxon and Mobil, will it really have any effect on funds available for terrorism?
What’s the agenda?
What’s behind each of these stories that arrive unrequested in your inbox? Each story announces its agenda, if we’ll take the time to read between the lines. Far too often the story lightly masks an agenda of hatred or fear mongering.
Why is it so easy to believe a message sent via email, forwarded from a complete stranger?
Take a Stand!
Please join me in taking a stand against the spread of misinformation. Before you hit forward, check out the story on Snopes.com or TruthOrFiction.com. Both of these sites maintain a database of urban legends and current stories circulating online. Isn’t it worth a few moments of your time to make certain that you’re spreading truth, and not propagating lies?
It’s a shame that far too many people are alright with using deceit for gain. It is a real problem online and it’s a tool many ‘trusted’ marketers use to get their following and kudos. (not just marketers I’m afraid.)
its one of the drawbacks of the amazing commication tools we’ve got now isn’t it – where in the past it’d be just gossip between a few people, we can now forward emails to everyone we know and they spread round the worls in hours.
and people seem to believe what they read on the internet and emails for some reason
I believe in propagating the truth that is why I always make sure to verify on a particular topic before posting it to any site.