The following blog post is based off of a news article. It is highly suggested you read it: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=110855&in_page_id...
Okay, so there's a good chance you didn't click the link. That's fine I'll recap here...
A cop in Thames Valley got a forwarded email of a classic hoax: strawberry flavored crystal meth. This hoax purports that this new drug is being handed out to children in the form of candy and two kids are already in the hospital. But! This isn't true.
The cop didn't know it wasn't true, and forwarded it along to everyone he knew.
Now what is wrong with this picture? Go ahead and take a guess before reading on :)
He didn't check his sources! Always, always, always check the facts. I get forwarded emails all the time and I will never forward it without checking the facts first. It should be a natural thing to do!
If you don't know where to find out if something is a hoax I have a couple suggestions...
1. Use google.com. It's as simple as putting the subject of the email in "quotes". From there you can start looking through some other information on it.
2. Snopes.com. Snopes is a website that, every day, goes through web hoaxes and researches to find the truth. I highly suggest that if you want to know the truth you visit this site.
So from now on when you are about to press the forward button, ask yourself this question: Is this true?
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At least twice a day I get an email forward from my grandfather that is obviously false. They're not even new or slightly believable hoaxes . . . they're the old ones that have been widely regarded as fake for years. I love my grandfather, but as a result of the emails (my mother gets the same ones, and has repeatedly tried to inform him of the error of his ways) I've lost a bit of respect for him
With my peers, it's not just email. A highly intelligent friend of mine was spreading some slander about some politician, and she acted really surprised when I called her on it. When we don't do our research, and we tout falsehoods like it's truth, not only does it make us look ignorant, but we also lose respect.
Exactly! Which is why I hope that when I write this, someone will realize they need to research a bit, you know? I'd love to trust my friends and family completely, but when they tell me things that are obviously untrue... it's hard!