Snopes.com is your friend
I receive a lot of Internet rumors, myths, legends and what-not. One reason I moderate comments on Cyberbrethren is to prevent the site from being overwhelmed by an unbelievable amount of junk. The more hits a site get, the more it become a target for spam.
Sadly, many Christians who use the Internet fall for just about any heart-tugging story that comes down the pike. Most recently, there has been one about a soldier in Iraq. These are called "urban legends." Urban legends are rumors, either entirely untrue, or based on a few facts, but otherwise hokum. How many years have we had to endure the urban legend that a band of atheists is on the brink of winning a Supreme Court decision banning all religious program from the airwaves? etc.
Please do yourself, and all those to whom you send e-mail a favor, never, ever…ever…send forwarded "sob stories" along to others unless you first check them out at snopes.com
I’ve been using "Snopes" for years. It is the best defense against Internet myths.
When in doubt check Snopes. Hint: always be in doubt!
“Please do yourself, and all those to whom you send e-mail, never, ever…ever…send forwarded “sob stories” along to others unless you first check them out at”
Please do yourself et al — what? a favor?
Speaking as a Soldier, you would not believe the silly things I get sent from people who will believe anything that hits their inbox.
Sometimes, being able to send emails for free is a curse.
If nothing else disproves the upward evolution of the human mind, the endless emailing and forwarding of phony warnings and promises ought to be the thing to do it. It ought to prove that we’re no less gullible than our ancestors. The critical-thinking gene is definitely not keeping up!
I wholeheartedly endorse this piece of advice. It seems that many people operate under the assumption that “if it’s on the internet, it must be true.”
What is more disheartning than people passing along untrue internet rumors is their angry reaction when their error is pointed out: “Well, a sincere Christian shared this with me.”
Can’t someone be “sincerely wrong”?