(Mis)Information Guaranteed

It is the same old story. You open your mailbox to find 30 new messages. And 20 out of those turn out to be forwarded emails. They tell you to further pass on the message if you want to continue using your free email and social networking services. Some go even further, and warn you of dire consequences if you do not forward those emails.

Of course, all this happens assuming that you actually bother opening these forwards in the first place. Chances are, most of you will simply select the entire lot of them and hit the “Delete” key without giving them a second thought.

This frequency of hoax emails is only one of the virtual trends, which have caused many people to label the internet as a place where the authenticity of the information available is extremely dubious. Where hoax emails are concerned, their extent is unlimited. Unverified news stories spread like fire around the internet and you will even find people attempting to update their anti-viruses to deal with viruses and worms which do not even exist!

But what is even more puzzling is that some people actually look forward to these emails. They sign online petitions thinking they are contributing to some worthy cause when, in reality, there is no cause. They even honestly believe that Microsoft and AOL can keep a track of one email and ascertain how many people forwarded it.

Also, when it comes to spreading hoaxes, emails are not the only means under fire. Scrapbooks on Orkut () are littered with misinformation. Probably the most common and the infamous scrap was one which called on all Muslims to boycott Nestle as it is a Danish product. Very few people bothered finding out that Nestle is a Swiss, and not a Danish company.

Certain websites are also notorious in spreading rumors around the internet. Since this medium has virtually no limits, it is not humanly impossible to keep a track of who is posting what information and how authentic it really is. It is very easy for a person to make an account at Geocities () and update it with forged news. What is worse, unless someone complains, the authorities at Yahoo! would never know what is going on.

On the outset, this entire scenario may sound very funny - probably something not worth giving notice to. But there are quite a lot of naïve people out there, especially those who are new to the internet, and they fall for these mails right away. Then, there is a whole circle of misinformation since these beginner users forward these emails extensively.

Incorrect information on websites can also have very negative implications since today’s student population relies heavily on the internet to do their research work. In many instances, they blatantly copy and paste information from articles and encyclopedias around the web, without giving a second thought to its authenticity. A common belief is that if it is on the internet, it has to be true. In fact, the reverse may be true at times as well.

On the other hand, there are some forwarded emails which are very genuine, but tend to suffer because no one takes them seriously. Sometimes, there are calls for donations which are very urgent, but since a level distrust regarding forwards has developed, no one will bother forwarding them or even doing a quick check to find out if they are for real.

Resultantly, you will find people who would rather block their search engines and stick to traditional newspapers and magazines for information. But the fact remains that there are places online where you

can get authentic information. The key is to know where to find it.

For instance, websites of those traditional sources of information which are already known to be relatively more authentic than the rest can be used to verify information from other, unknown websites. These sources include the websites for BBC World and CNN, along with local news channels.

Another key to avoid using incorrect information is to recognise “wikis” for what they are. Encyclopedias like Wikipedia () are totally edited by the common people, so there are chances that the information put up there could be unauthentic.

Where emails are concerned, formula is actually quite simple. When you receive a forwarded email, simply log onto Snopes (). This is an excellent website which has compiled all the information that is forwarded on emails into categories. Within the categories, it has listed specific forwarded emails and their status, that is, whether they are true or false. You can simply search for the email content that you received and get an update on its status. If you do not find the specific email which you received, you can use an online form to submit the contents of the mail. Snopes will then evaluate that content, give it a true or false status and add it to its website.

In the end, it all comes down to actually making an effort to eliminate misinformation rather then lamenting incessantly about it. Of course, the key question which arises in this context remains: when the internet is supposed to be one place where a wealth of information is available, why do we have the tendency to add to the rate at which it is spreading misinformation?

Hot spots

The Following are a few websites that you can use to eliminate the menace of email hoaxes for good.

Hoax busters
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
This is a very useful website which has also listed down all the hoax emails. Along with Snopes, you can use this to find out which emails you receive are hoax and which are not. Also, it will give you details on what are hoax emails in the first place.

Virus myths and hoaxes
http://vmyths.com/
Use this website to combat the threats of non-existent viruses and worms. There is absolutely no need to make the rest of the innocent internet users paranoid. When you receive a so-called virus alert, log on to this website. It has an alphabetical listing of all those viruses and worms which exist in your email inbox.

Common internet and email hoaxes
http://www.3oddballz.com/hoaxes/
This website has organised all the forwarded mail that you can receive into various categories. There are sections for junk emails, urban legends, hoaxes, rumours and virus threats. Likely chances are that a forward email you receive will fall into one or more of these categories.