Julie McInerney

2-15-03

SLM521 SP03

Internet Hoaxes, Myths, and Urban Legends

When I first started to read some of the Internet hoaxes on Hoax Busters at DOE, I was amazed at how many of the false e-mails I have received in the past. These fraudulent emails prey on people’s worst fears of death, disease and hurt loved ones. I received a hoax email a few years ago about there being needles infected with HIV that people have sat on in random movie theaters. I was really scared for a while, because other people I work with received the same message and was talking about the situation. I realize now that it was not true. This email was sent to so many people because it caused fear in everyone, so they wanted to protect one another. I also read about bananas from Costa Rica carrying a flesh eating disease. The hard part about telling if some messages are hoaxes is there are actually flesh eating diseases, but they are so rare. The slight truth in a hoax makes it seem credible.

I hadn’t realized the sheer enormity of the Internet and how anyone could post anything to a web site and it does not have to be true. Unfortunately for educators, there are not people that oversee what goes on the internet, so it makes it difficult when students ask if something is true that they read on the Internet. The need for authentication is essential because there is so much misinformation out there and students tend to believe anything on the web. In terms of medical information, it is essential to check with the CDC to double check information or look in a medical journal or encyclopedia. Since the Internet is so quick and gives someone such a quick answer to a question or search, many people do not double check their information. Looking in journals, encyclopedias, and other reference materials could cut down on the amount of misinformation that runs rampant on our email accounts.

It was nice to know that someone can look up hoaxes, myths, and urban legends on sites to see that information being sent over the Internet is false. I will look to About.com’s Urban Legend site, Hoax Busters at DOE, and the Center for Disease Control from now on. Hopefully this will help so that I don’t send a false message to someone else thinking that I am protecting someone, only to find out that I am letting a hoax live on the web.