Gossip and the Internet

Gossip is repeating any information, good or bad without checking the source for truth. Gossip is like the old party game of telephone, by the time the message gets back to the source it is usually distorted, bearing little if any resemblance to the original message or incident. It is with increasing horror that I observe the trend of gossip on the Internet.

Internet gossip takes several forms, one of which is the virus hoax. Recently such a message made the rounds through a professional list serve to which I subscribe. As a result of believing the message, people unnecessarily removed a program from their computer.

One hoax that cut a little too deep, was the photo of the tourist on the world trade center tower that showed a plane coming in behind him. I was sent this by a friend who’s cousin died in the explosion, he never dreamed it could be a hoax and neither did I. I was ready to pass the photo on when someone at work mentioned it was a hoax. After checking it out, the photo turned out to be doctored. Both my friend and I were shocked and disgusted that someone would perpetuate a lie about an already terrible tragedy.

I recently received a “pray for me” message about a little girl badly burned in an accident, since this was sent to me by a fellow churchgoer, I assumed it was someone he knew and I passed it on, asking my friends to take the time to pray. When I received an e-mail back wondering about the condition of the child and realized I had heard no further updates, a little voice told me to check it out. I was dismayed to discover that although the story turned out to be true, it had happened over a year ago and did not require the immediate intervention so desperately requested.

All the hoaxes Ive received have been sent by well meaning friends. The harm is not so much in the message, but in the results; because the message comes from someone we know and trust we obligingly pass it on. This wastes everyone’s time and adds one more piece of junk mail to already overflowing mailboxes. I wonder too about the “boy who cried wolf syndrome“; in a world where we are blasted so constantly by e-mails clamoring for attention, how long before we become immune to the real virus warnings, requests for prayer or vital messages such as those about breast cancer bills and adoption laws?

Integrity doesnt stop when we turn on the computer. The Internet is an amazing tool, with a million valuable uses. As with any form of communication, there are certain basic principles to follow. Wisdom such as “if you cant say anything nice, dont say anything at all” holds true for this form of communication too!

There are several hoaxes sites, the one I use most often is www.snopes.com, you can type in keywords such as “burned child” or “world trade center” and the site will bring up all related articles. I have checked maybe 20 or so e-mails using this site and only two turned out to be the real thing.

So please, think before you “speak“, what is funny as a party game can have unexpected results in real life. Check it out before you repeat gossip; communication is such a precious gift, let us honor and respect both the information and the receiver.