- E-mail warnings about crime, disease, new laws, you-name-it that get sent out to everyone in the Contacts list without being checked out first! Extra irritation points if the sender adds "Don't know if this is true, but better to be safe..."
My husband finds this at least as irritating as I do, and maybe even more so. Tall Paul has suggested that every Internet browser should be installed with Snopes.com already bookmarked. If you receive a lot of forwarded e-mails, it's one of the most useful websites out there.
Some of the recent e-mail rumors Snopes has helped us debunk are:
- Flyers on the rear windshields are being used as a diversion to carjack vehicles out of parking lots. (A signature line from a police officer is no guarantee that these warnings are true.)
- The new $1 coin has had the words "In God We Trust" removed. (No, they're just on the edge of the coin instead of the face.)
- New York State will start using the EZ-Pass toll-collection system to catch speeders. (Actually, someone else on my uncle's mailing list caught this one another way, but in any case, it's not true.)
- An online coupon for freebies at Blockbuster (does anyone still go there, by the way?)
I wonder if instead of pre-loading a Snopes bookmark, there could be an automated fact-checking function for e-mail - kind of like spell-check - that could stop these messages before they get forwarded again? I know I could just ignore and delete these messages, but I'd rather do my part to try and stop the perpetuation of rumors and misinformation. Yes, I am that obnoxious, is that a problem?
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6 comments via Blogger:
This was on my list!! I hate it! I used to be bad about trying to be helpful, back in the early days of the internet, but Snopes has become my friend, too. I get enough emails without having to see if I should take cover from whatever the latest crazy rumor is! Thanks for the post! Happy Wednesday to you!
Jennifer :-)
Jennifer - I think I forget how much this bugs me until I get one of those e-mails. They usually do stop with me, though, unless I'm compelled to reply with "Sorry, not true!"
Way back when tons of people sent me every forward under the sun, I would find the link in Snopes and return to all. It's kind of bitchy but it works. After 10-plus years of having email, I am finally down to only 3 people that still send me every missing kid alert and Bill Gates will make you a millionaire thing.
Sunshine - I basically do the same thing with the more ridiculous forwards now, and so does my husband. Unfortunately, we haven't re-trained anyone yet, but we're working on it. (10 years?!)
Ugh! I get so frustrated with e-mails like you've described. Like you, I get the strong desire to pass along just how bogus most of these threats and scams are with a link to Snopes. More often than not these days though, I delete them without even bothering to read them.
Literary Feline - Clearly, I share your frustration! And I do just delete some of those forwards (after rolling my eyes a bit) - in some cases, it's not even worth looking them up. It is kind of fun to debunk them, though, and reply back to everyone. For me, the important part is breaking the chain, one way or another, I guess.
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