Sponsor's Message

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When Urban Myths Strike
Why is it that people will believe almost any rumour that circulates on the Net via email, chat-rooms or newsgroups, but they view online news reports with skepticsm?

For example: It seems that people down at the Viaduct Basin in Auckland were all in a tiz this week after rumours, said to have originated on the Internet, led many to believe that a terrorist attack was imminent.

Readers Say (updated irregularly) From Yesterday Flat rate?... - Allister Jetstart... - Peter Actrix... - Nigel Cordless Keyboards and... - Shane Have Your Say

Christmas functions were cancelled and some people were really worried by the rumour which was simply a version of this notorious urban myth.

But Aucklanders need not feel too silly, they've joined the ranks of millions world-wide who have also been fooled.

Just six weeks ago an Australian website posted this apology for spreading a very similar warning relating to this month's Adelaide Christmas Pageant.

So what's wrong with people -- are they just too lazy to spend a couple of minutes using Google to check out seemingly critical reports like these?

Given that the Net is rife with scams and hoaxes, you'd think that most people would view any "warnings" that aren't published by reputable sources as being somewhat suspicious.

Check out this Wired.com story about hoax Al Qaeda messages posted to newsgroups for another example of how easy it is to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt through the Net.

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