Although the Internet can be a great source for writers seeking easily accessible and accurate information, recent events demonstrate once again the fact that the Internet can be an even greater source for misinformation. Writers deal with information both as creators and as consumers. False or inaccurate facts are more than a mere nuisance; they can undermine the quality of our work. We also risk losing the trust of our friends when we forward hoaxes and scams to them. How bad is the problem? Estimates are that the vast majority of all bulk emails are either hoaxes or scams.
The most common source of false information is spam, or junk email. Spam has reached such a low point in trustworthiness that no legitimate business should ever consider using it. Needless to say, if you're really interested in a particular product, answering a spam solicitation is not the best way to buy it. There have also been several fake charities sending spam out to aid victims of the terrorist attacks. Real charities don't send spam.
Some falsehoods may seem innocuous, such as the fake Nostradamos prophecy in September, but even seemingly harmless untruths can cost us. As each person who receives a hoax email sends it along to say ten friends and each of them does the same for ten of their friends, and so on, the Internet itself becomes clogged and slows down. Real information has difficulty getting through. Any email address mentioned in a fake email may suddenly receive millions of queries related to the hoax.
This is a variation of a DoS (Denial of Service) attack. By overloading someone's mail server, you can temporally shut down their operations whether they are a business or a government agency. Bill Gates will not pay you to test the new Microsoft email software and Toyota will not give you cash credit for emailing their car ads, but if enough people email those corporations to ask for the details of those hoaxes, we can crash their mail servers.
The Internet is choking with falsehoods. The difficulty for the scrupulous writer is how to separate the trash from the truth. There is no guaranteed method to protect yourself from misinformation on the Internet any more than there is a guaranteed method to protect yourself from real-world falsehoods. The basic rules are similar though, and, when in doubt, you can look it up.
Fortunately, there are several sites devoted to keeping track of and debunking email hoaxes and other urban legends. These are only a few of the many sites dedicated to accurate information.
1. The Centers for Disease control maintains a site for to health related hoaxes and rumors. For example,
"There are several emails being circulated with the false subject line: 'Important information about anthrax from
CDC.' CDC has not conducted a mass email campaign to consumers, therefore, these emails do not originate from CDC."
http://www.cdc.gov/hoax_rumors.htm
2. The Computer Incident Advisory Capability branch of the Department of Energy has a site called Hoaxbusters at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/. This site deals with all types of hoaxes and email scams, not just those related to the DOE. "At CIAC, we find that we spend much more time de-bunking hoaxes than handling real virus and Trojan incidents. These pages describe some of the warnings, offers, and pleas for help that are filling our mailboxes, clogging our mailservers, and that generally do not have any basis in fact."
3. The Internet Virus Antidote site not only tells you about hoaxes (mind viruses) but also encourages
everyone to stop spreading them. "A mind virus that instructs you to forward it right away is a mind virus trying
to reproduce. "
http://www.memecentral.com/antidote.htm
4. Snopes specializes in urban legends and is often used by reporters as a first-source to double-check a
story.
http://www.snopes2.com/
5. The discussion list AFU (alt.folklore.urban), begun in 1991, is a great place to talk about urban legends
and ask those questions that no one else seems to have the answers for.
http://www.urbanlegends.com/
6. Seen the one about obnoxious anti-war protesters being driven out of a Best Western restaurant near the
University of Idaho by true patriots singing "God Bless America?" It didn't happen.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
7. Myths.com: Truth About Computer Virus Myths and Hoaxes. "We coined the term hystericane (a contraction
of "hysteria hurricane"). These events follow a regular cycle, too. In other words, we can begin to predict
virus hysteria."
http://www.vmyths.com/
The basic rule is this: Check it out before you send it out. If you receive an urgent email warning from a friend saying you must immediately send copies of the message to everyone you know, it's almost certainly an email hoax. If it isn't, the few minutes it takes to verify it won't matter anyway.