Before you forward me that cute chain email…
Internet hoaxes have been around for a long as there has been an Internet. Many of them are circulated as part of Internet “[tag]chain letter[/tag]s,” often containing the [tag]hoax[/tag] story, a promise of good fortune if you follow the instructions and a threat of bad fortune if you don’t.
These are most often circulated by friends to other friends. Why would we want to threaten our friends? Seems like bad form to me. I don’t like being threatened. So stop it. Don’t send me ANYTHING that contains a threat like “if you delete this, you’ll have three years bad luck.” I already had the bad luck – I read the email because you are my friend.
The promise and the [tag]threat[/tag] are designed to emotionally [tag]manipulate[/tag] the recipient into perpetuating the chain. Again, why would we want to manipulate those who are our friends? If we wanted to perpetuate an Internet hoax, wouldn’t it be better to manipulate and threaten our enemies?
Case in point: a recently recirculated (and completely false) story about [tag]Alexander Fleming[/tag] and [tag]Winston Churchill[/tag]. Originally collected on the Internet in 1999, this oldie-but-bullshit has a young Winston Churchill being rescued from certain death by the father of Alexander Fleming, the “discoverer of penicillin.”
A grateful Sir Randolph Churchill pays Fleming’s way through medical school and he goes on to discover penicillin. Later in life, he is able to repay this deed by using penicillin to save Prime Minister Churchill’s life at a critical point in World War II.
At least that is ONE version of the story. To read the rest of the versions, and how the “discoverer” of penicillin hadn’t the vaguest idea of the importance of what he had discovered (and didn’t even know how to administer it years later), read the story “What Goes Around” at Snopes.com.
The various versions of this story have one thing in common – they are ALL crap!
But what is the harm in this? Isn’t the sender delivering an inspirational message that rises above mundane matters like accuracy? Well yes – and no.
There is still that nasty manipulation/threat cycle we discussed earlier. When someone originates an Internet hoax, he assumes that the vast majority of recipients will be too busy or too distracted to check it out. He is right.
We all love to share inspirational stories with our friends and associates – and we should. The problem with perpetuating hoaxes on our friends is that we risk losing credibility.
Wouldn’t it be better if we took a moment to check out these things before we send them on? Why risk losing credibility with people we care about? Most of these hoaxes have been kicking around so long that many people who receive them instantly recognize them as fakes. They probably looked them up two or three years ago and discovered their dodgy origins.
That was the case with the email I mentioned above. I first saw that on snopes.com around 2000. I have received various versions of it several times over the years since. They survive because the original senders just can’t resist taking advantage of others unfamiliarity with them.
It used to be a bit more difficult to perpetuate a chain letter. You had to go make copies, write out envelopes, pay for postage and stick them in the mailbox in order to send them on. Now, it just takes a click of the “forward” button to perhaps make a fool of yourself in an instant.
It only takes a minute to check out an Internet chain letter. There are two well-known sources. They are Snopes.com and Hoaxbusters. Both have simple and useful search capabilities. Check before you hit the forward button.
How do you recognize an Internet hoax? Any email that asks to be forwarded is an immediate suspect. Any email containing a promise of good fortune, or a threat of bad fortune is a suspect. Any story that seems too good to be true is a suspect. And unfortunately, any email that tugs at our heartstrings with tales of sickness and misfortune (especially involving children) has to be suspect.
Is there a chance that an email that fits the above criteria for suspicion is legitimate. Yes, but a very small chance. Don’t forward any suspect email until you have checked it out.
One more thing. This might seem a bit conspiratorial, but think about it. Most of this type of email that I receive has been forwarded several times. And right there in the email, in the clear, is the email address of every person who was in the chain from the beginning.
Now, if I were a spammer in search of fresh email addresses, that list would look mighty interesting to me. So if you insist on perpetuating this type of garbage, at least show a little common courtesy and delete the email addresses of previous recipients.
This post may make me seem like the Andy Rooney of email. I’m not trying to be the curmudgeon. I know it pisses a lot of you off when your email gets slammed with jokes, hoaxes, chain letters and the like. Pisses me off, too. But I do appreciate receiving real inspirational stuff from friends and associates. All I ask is that you be just a bit discriminate in what you send.
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