Every now and then I’m asked to investigate dubious submissions to the newsletter at work, not quite often enough as far as I’m concerned as the odd doozy still gets through (when will people learn to just do exactly as I say?). Still, if I’m lucky then I get to inform people before the junk takes up residence in their brains rather than after. The following is an adaption of something I wrote in place of a scare mongering chain letter type email that one employee was attempting to get published.
In this age of hand held computers, mobile phones and internet ready Fridges the ease with information can be disseminated throughout the world is something that is a very powerful tool for both good and ill. The same technology that can warm your heart by telling you about the birth of a family member on the other side of the world complete with photos within minutes can also be used to spread fear and scam you out of your hard earned money. I recently was asked to check out a perfect example, the story of a woman being the target of an horrific gang initiation heroically saved at the last minute by a quick thinking service station attendant. This is might as well have been calculated to cause anxiety and hysteria, it appeals to our emotions and hijacks our reason in order to ensure propagation. That the story portrayed in the email is false almost goes without saying (well it does really but I just wanted to say it anyway) and thanks to well meaning folks it has been circulating in various incarnations for years.
While I realise that it is genuine concern that motivates people to forward these emails, these emails have a powerful effect on people, this is exactly why the stories should be investigated so that the fakes are not continually perpetuated. There are so much better ways to use the fantastic technology we have for communication than to propagate fear and paranoia. I certainly don’t blame anyone for wanting to protect their loved ones. Unfortunately all emails that contain such items that whomever sent it has not witnessed personally should be considered suspect and investigated before passing on. To this end here are a couple of websites that specialise in cataloging and debunking these hoaxes.
www.snopes.com (My personal favourite)
www.hoax-slayer.com
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Scepticon 
I have gotten or known someone who has gotten the “mars is going to be as big as the moon” email every year for at least the last 4 years. I am sure I will get it for the next 10.
That’s a strange one to be sure, even though it’s obviously false it keeps going around.
I covered a similar issue on my own blog as a result of a conspiracy email being published as an editorial in our small town newsletter. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this (presumably trusting whoever forwarded it to them).
I apply a simple principle to these emails. If it says “send this to everyone you know”, I delete it.
That’s a good rule of thumb, what gets me is how easy it is to check the validity of these emails yet few even try. There have only been one or two times when I have been unable to determine the status of one of these email in 30 seconds or less.
An extended family member once told me that he felt it was his responsibility to forward these things “just in case” they were true. I responded that if their welfare was the top priority then he had a duty to check the truth of the claims before sending them on to avoid causing unnecessary stress.
I might have used slightly more tactful language, I forget.