fact checking

snopes

Debunking Internet hoaxes

Almost every day I get queries about whether a particular report or rumor circulating on the Internet is true or not. Not sure whether that e-mail you got contains the truth, a shred of truth, or is a complete fabrication? Here are some of the best resources for verifying or discounting possible Internet hoaxes.

Snopes2
The best of the bunch.

Hoax info from Internet 101
Advisories and warnings about hoaxes, myths, chain letters, bogus virus alerts and more.

Vmyths
Learn about computer virus myths, hoaxes, urban legends, hysteria, and the implications if you believe in them. [Read more…] about Debunking Internet hoaxes

Citizen sleuthing: The unmasking of Lonelygirl15

19-year-old offers tips on research methods used to uncover her true identity

Matt Foremski, pictured below, tells how he did some citizen sleuthing to discover the true identity of YouTube’s Lonelygirl15. She was not a home-schooled 16-year-old girl named Bree but rather an actress named Jessica Rose, who had recently moved from New Zealand to Burbank, Calif. I caught up with Foremski in an AIM chat to learn the details of how he broke one of the biggest Internet stories of 2006. [Read more…] about Citizen sleuthing: The unmasking of Lonelygirl15

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