The title of this post is from the website Snopes.com. I love the way in sums up a problem that infects our modern mass and interpersonal communication environment. In an age of nearly instantaneous electronic communication via SMS, email, blogs, and a 24/7 news cycle, there is no shortage of information. There is also no shortage of rumors, gossip, half-truths and fabrications masquerading as truth. How is one to tell the difference? Well to start, a healthy dose of skepticism is advised...especially for you budding journalists out there. You know the mantra, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out!" No matter how much you want to believe the latest juicy bit of info, don't contribute to the rumor mill until you've had a chance to confirm the fact with other reliable sources.
Just a few days ago MSNBC admitted that it had been duped into reporting that, "Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a Fox News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent. (AP, Yahoo! News) The news story about the false report continued, "Eisenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish."
We expect journalists to do their job and fact-check their sources. But what about personal communications. When you are tempted to pass along an email or other communication that does not come from a trusted source, consider checking with an online service that exist to squelch internet rumors, e.g., Snopes.com
Just today I used Snopes.com to confirm that one of my favorite stories about planning ahead is actually an urban legend. I first read the story in Wired magazine in 1995 and it made a great impression on me. According to the story, Oxford University discovered a few years ago that it needed to replace the original oak beams in the ceiling of College Hall. The new beams were cut from oak trees that were planted the same year the Hall had been built--1386. The moral of the story, of course, is that forward-thinking carpenters living in the 14th century foresaw a future need for large oak timbers, and planned (planted) accordingly. Unfortunately, it appears that the story is not entirely true. True, oak trees growing on property owned by Oxford University were harvested to provide the necessary oak beams. But there is no indication that these trees were planted specifically to meet a need that was envisioned 600 years in the future. Great story, but sadly not one that holds up under scrutiny.
How about you, have you ever been duped by a great story that turned out not to be true?
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7 comments:
After reading this post I personally could not think of any great story that I have been duped by. I usually fall for stories that are simple and I get fooled by someone playing a trick on me. So, I asked my mom because she doesn't tend to be as gullible as I am. She explained that in the 80s Colgate-Palmolive had a logo which had a wizard and stars. The rumor then was that it was some sort of satanic symbol. This made news stories everywhere. Because of the prevalence of the story in the news, my mom believed it. Of course this story was not true. I would bet though that Colgate-Palmolive felt the pressure because of this rumor. This goes to show that not everything we hear in the news can be believed.
Molly Cotner
I remember when I was little somebody told me how daddy long leg spiders had the most potent venom of any spider, but they are too small to bite people. I thought this was true up until a couple of years ago when the TV show Myth Busters proved it wrong. I think that is why that show is so popular. There are so many of these great stories that seem plausible but are in fact fabrications. There is also a website truthorfiction.com that has all of these Internet stories and tells whether they are true or not. I think people want these stories to be true, so they believe them without questioning. It certainly would make life more interesting if the worlds most venomous spider was living in my garage.
Collyn Rankin MCCNM 101 11:00
Of course! I think if we look back far enough all of us can find a story, myth or accidental rumor that we were dooped by.
When dealing with rumors, holy cow, you might as well walk up to the person and ask them because rumors are typically half true.
Myth busters is a great demonstation of seeking out the truth! They will 'bust' anything, that show is fun but can be dissapointing at times, we find out something is not true.
Lindsay Wolking MCCNM 101
Unfortunately, there are so many ulterior motives for what content is on the Internet...for some its an intentional effort at malice towards something or someone...for others, it's misinformation they're innocently, yet irresponsibly spreading...yet, still for others, its about their ego and their desire to be the first to provide information on some topic...
I know that I tend to think of Wikipedia, for instance, as self-correcting, so am inclined to believe its content, which is probably naive of me. Maybe one lesson is to access diverse content on a topic from various and numerous sources, before one considers it credible?
We've only begun to see the serious problems that people and organizations are going to have over misinformation spread instantly...to millions...online, I think.
One instance where I felt sort of...misinformed...was when I heard that CNN had a hologram of a reporter right after the election. When I checked it out, it turned out that we still don't exactly have the technology for a hologram of that scope. It turned out to be a tomograph, which is different from a hologram because a hologram is actually projected into space. From there on I continued to look into the differences and came to understand it. This just goes to show that even the news can provide misinformation.
I laugh at how we can all find oureselves beleiving a story souly on the fact that is sounds true. I have been duped by a false story on a few occasions. The one the sticks out the most would have to be the story of how my grandma would shave all the childrens head if they miss-behaved.
I was so scared to act out because I never wanted to be shaved. Of course now I know it was not true. But at the time I would never do naughty things to avoid being shaved. It is almost psychological. We hear something that sounds true, so we must think that we have to beleive it. So if family stories can be beleivable, so can the news that is on national TV.
I remember falling for the urban legend regarding that classic disco tune "Love Rollercoaster" by The Ohio Players. When I was an impressionable school girl, my older, sophisticated sisters told me that the scream in the song came from someone who was murdered in the studio while they were taping. From then on, every time I heard that song, I'd get the chills. I forgot about the legend until recently, when I heard "Love Rollercoaster" played on the Party Favorites satellite music station. Once when the song was playing, I told my daughter about the rumors regarding the scream then we "researched" it on the Internet and found out it was a hoax. At least my daughter won't get chills whenever she hears that song...
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