by Patricia Paris
posted September 29, 2007
 Patricia Paris |
The first two claims are known as scarelore in Internet language and hold no truth whatsoever and never did. The third is an attempt to discredit and damage a political candidate and, sadly, begins with "How fast can you forward this?" in huge fonts. And the missing boy…well, that smiling young man is not missing at all. His name and photo were merely substituted somewhere in a long chain of emails about a missing girl who was never missing either. Quite possibly, the "missing kids" created the emails about themselves because they thought it was a lark.
For those who still haven't caught on, there are people in this world who get their jollies by making up hoaxes and lies and turning them loose on the Internet. They are depending on us to provide a forum for their prevarications.
Even I, one who customarily deletes any email with 'fwd' in the subject line without even reading it, has fallen victim on occasion. I paid dearly after completing a survey for the promised free gift card from Applebee's. I didn't get the gift card, but I did take in a lot of spyware.
The advent of the Internet has provided an unparalleled forum for the perpetrators of hoaxes, lies, chain letters, and scams. Email hoaxes in particular spread false information from person to person with astonishing rapidity by encouraging recipients to forward to everyone they know. Such hoaxes may consist of bogus websites designed to fool users into believing they are visiting legitimate sites.
Junk mail and spam come in the form of chain letters, allegations designed to ruin someone's reputation, claims against corporations or products, scams, hoaxes, petitions, and dangerous phishing schemes, under various guises, designed to obtain and use your personal information.
The solitary feature that distinguishes Internet hoaxes from errors in judgment or folklore is that they are deliberately deceptive. There are websites dedicated to sorting all of this out for us and it is wise to consult one of them before hitting the send button and passing along rumors that that could have a devastating effect on the reputation of a person, corporation, or product.
Some of the forwarded emails that have hit my computer are described below. All were complete fabrications of someone's imagination.
A recent chain letter stated that the founder of Abercrombie and Fitch would send a $25 gift certificate for every five people I forwarded the email to.
Killer bananas from Costa Rica were infecting consumers with necrotizing fasciitis, a deadly "flesh-eating disease". Now don't panic and throw away your healthy, potassium-laden fruit; it was just another Internet hoax
One specimen of email "scarelore" that has continually circulated since 1998, warned that the artificial sweetener aspartame known as "NutraSweet" and "Equal" was toxic to humans in a hundred different ways. It even coined a new medical term for these effects: "aspartame disease". Most of the allegations against these products contradicts the bulk of medical evidence, but its author offered a convenient explanation: collusion between aspartame's manufacturers, the medical establishment, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Another "scarelore" email warned women not to drink bottled water that has been left in a car for any length of time because. supposedly, the heat releases cancer-causing toxins which "leak" from the plastic into the water. This email targeted women for some unknown reason.
Yet another claimed that drinking cold water after a meal slows digestion and coats the intestines with "sludge," leading to cancer.
Various versions of a tale about an exploding can of biscuits that hit a driver in the head are attributed to an AP article to give credibility to a concocted tale. But AP says they never published such a story.
Don't go to the bathroom on Oct. 28! As I recall, this allegation was that organized groups of alligators had infiltrated our sewer systems and would emerge from toilet bowls across the nation to bite us on the butts. This was supposedly a warning from the CIA. The author of this email yarn should put his imagination to better use and pen a novel.
Another email wanted to inform me that legislation had been introduced that would allow taxation on all of my email messages.
Few things tug at our heartstrings like tales of a child in need or, worse, a child in jeopardy. For mot of us, it is in our nature to protect the young. These are usually sent as chain letters and come in two distinct types - sick child, dying child, and missing child.
"Sick child" claims are most always bogus chain letters that frequently promise that you can help fund their medical care or help them realize a lifelong wish simply by forwarding an e-mail. There is no way that forwarding an email can help anybody. Most "dying child" emails are about children who don't even exist, so before reaching for that Kleenex, check out the story first.
"Missing child" reports are usually false. On occasion, where one actually began as a true event, it quickly succumbed to the shortcomings of broadcasting information via email because warped minds, not believing the information is sensational enough or wanting to get in on the action, altered the information, changed the name of the child, and even replaced their photo. I received one such email this week that, according to snopes.com, began as a false tale about a missing girl, and along the way, the name and photo was changed to that of a teenage boy.
Internet petitions are also becoming quite the thing. I've received a number of them for various grievances. There's no way a petition could end up at the intended receiver's destination after it has spread out in thousands of different directions. And just adding your typed name to the list is NOT a signature. Anyone could type your name on there.
This is not to say that emails can't be informative. I've received and passed along some that offered an opinion or opposing view, especially when they're about current political issues, because I believe there is much to be gained from looking at all sides. Points of view, however, should be represented as such and not confused with deliberate false claims and allegations.
I've also learned more about the earth and its wonders than I ever dreamed was possible through email attachments that gave me a bird's eye view. Without them, I may never know the fascinating habits of Australia 's lyre bird nor marvel at the Millau viaduct, the world's tallest bridge connecting Paris and Barcelona.
A few websites specializing in sorting these out for you are snopes.com, urbanlegends.about.com, plasticsmythbuster.org, breakthechain.org, and TruthorFiction.com To use the Internet responsibly, it's always wise to take a moment and consult one of these organizations before clogging the Internet with damaging emails.
We can help to curb email madness by not passing damaging or senseless emails on. Say no to giving them a voice.
(Copyright 2007 Patricia Paris
Contact: patriciaparis@gmail.com
Patricia Paris is an author/columnist from Chattanooga.
Member: Tennessee Mountain Writers, International Women Writers Association, Tennessee Writers Alliance, Chattanooga Writers Guild)
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