Deep in the back of our minds we've always known that the internet is a great hiding place for liars. They lurk everywhere, from chat rooms to online message boards and now onto blogs and online news reports.
The incident where a citizen reporter claimed that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack has left a sour taste in my mouth. There will always be lairs amongst us out there, but there should be a way to filter them out, for the most part at least. This fake report caused Apple stocks to dip and is now being investigated. This isn't just a joke and someone is going to get nailed to the wall for that one.
This sparks yet another question that I have about the internet. Do we believe everything we hear and see online? It doesn't fail that every week I'll get at least one "VIRUS IS COMING" email from someone, that I then have to debunk at snopes.com and reply back to. It seems as though if we see it in print, even online, we believe it. Is the American public this gullible? C'mon guys and girls...don't believe everything you see, or hear. Question authority and think for yourselves every now and again.
Here's a nice piece by the New York Times on this topic.
Monday, October 13, 2008
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