When you get those forwarded emails about how antiperspirants cause cancer, tales of “true” acts of heroism or villainy, “verified” requests by deposed royalty needing donations, a “true” story about some hot issue like immigration or a candidate’s religion, check the facts at http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp before you forward these “true” items on to all your friends. Even if the email swears the information has been verified by a “lawyer” or came from a newspaper, check it out yourself.
It’s not only that the emails might have a virus, but Americans are seeing a lot of downright lies being perpetrated. Don’t play into the hands of people and organizations with harmful agendas. Check things out, not only through Snopes, but also through traditional media. As an educator and a journalist, I’m bothered by the growing numbers of people who base their opinions on who shouts the loudest on talk shows and which videos get the most hits on YouTube. Let’s at least monitor our emails for factual content.
One thing I often do is sign email petitions on behalf of causes I believe in. These usually reach my in-box via organization newsletters and alerts—I’ve signed up for them, so I know they are valid. Sometimes I’ll receive a petition request to sign that’s forwarded by a friend whom I trust. I sign those, too, as long as I agree and as long as it’s an organization or web site that I recognize as legitimate.
And, of course, forwarding a good joke or hilarious photos (I’m very fond of cute animal pictures) is always fun! But “truth” isn’t the issue in those emails.
It’s not only that the emails might have a virus, but Americans are seeing a lot of downright lies being perpetrated. Don’t play into the hands of people and organizations with harmful agendas. Check things out, not only through Snopes, but also through traditional media. As an educator and a journalist, I’m bothered by the growing numbers of people who base their opinions on who shouts the loudest on talk shows and which videos get the most hits on YouTube. Let’s at least monitor our emails for factual content.
One thing I often do is sign email petitions on behalf of causes I believe in. These usually reach my in-box via organization newsletters and alerts—I’ve signed up for them, so I know they are valid. Sometimes I’ll receive a petition request to sign that’s forwarded by a friend whom I trust. I sign those, too, as long as I agree and as long as it’s an organization or web site that I recognize as legitimate.
And, of course, forwarding a good joke or hilarious photos (I’m very fond of cute animal pictures) is always fun! But “truth” isn’t the issue in those emails.
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