The rumor mill is exploding! Of course it is, given the growth of the internet and an election year to boot!
A helpful (true) email is the most recent one about a malware virus possibly infecting your computer starting July 9. By now you’ve probably received this from someone in your email list. Even if I trust the sender, I always check it out for myself. This one is true but may not affect your computer. Being that it was sent to me by two people I trust, I decided tto see if it was true. I went to Snopes.com a site that makes it easy to check out whether warnings and urban legends are true or false. Here’s the direct link (including the response from the FBI regarding the malware and why July 9 is the date in the warning. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/dnschanger.asp
An example of a warning pamphlet/poster associated with the Mickey Mouse acid urban myth. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sometimes funny and sometimes annoying, are the emails that say that money will “flow” to you if you forward it or something wonderful will happen when you send it to at least 20 friends. Others threaten dire consequences if it isn’t sent immediately. If there’s something that touches my heart, I’m willing to pass it on but only to people I think would appreciate it. As for chain letters, I don’t participate and usually delete them.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center has, among its many discussions, a site that discusses chain letters, political rumors and other rumors. Here’s the direct link to the chain letter discussion. This site is also an eye-opening place to explore.
Want to check out how political ads are manipulated on both sides? Check out these short series of videos at Flackcheck in the “Patterns of Deception” menu. Flackcheck is an initiative of the Annenberg Foundation, by the way. Interesting stuff!
Sorry about the late computer virus warning, but I just now heard about it.
One last tip: If you receive or are compelled to send a warning, such as the computer virus warning, PLEASE include the link to the source. If it’s an important warning, it’s hard to believe something that can’t be verified.
Good luck!
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