To wonder why people repeat myths on the internet without checking

[hackmum]

Someone on Facebook has just posted a link to the story about Zouheir, the "Muslim" who supposedly confronted a suicide bomber outside the Stade de France last week.

Except it's not true, as this BBC story explains:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34845882

It takes a matter of seconds to check something like this. Yet the Muslim Council of Britain repeated the story in its advert condemning the attacks.

Obviously it's not just this story - it happens all the time. Another friend just posted something purporting to be a speech to schoolchildren by Bill Gates, except it isn't. But I don't get why. It's so easy to check stuff now - just a few seconds of googling.

So why do otherwise intelligent people (and both the people I've just cited are highly educated) not check? Why don't they learn from experience? Is it that they're just not that bothered whether something is true or not?

Can anyone enlighten me?

I shared something funny from 'Britain Furst' the other day (spoof site), and got absolute pelters because people jumped to conclusions. I am as leftie-liberal as they come.

Its a bit like the crowds around the boat on the quayside ....
if you are going to make up a bullshit story at least use the name of a ship that can be easily traced

I have a FB friend who periodically shares the 'eating previously cut onions, even if they have been wrapped and refrigerated, will give you food poisoning' one. I just comment how amazing it is that I have never given anyone food poisoning.

Yes, but it IS true that if you're worried at a cashpoint that you're about to get robbed you put your PIN in backwards and it automatically calls the police. A friend of my sister's friend managed to avoid being raped using this little trick apparently. Everyone should know about it!
I've considered changing my PIN to 1221 so that every time I leave a cashpoint a swarm of police arrive shortly after!

Not sure if this is true or not because I can't be bothered to google as I suspect it's bullshit :- but if you enter your PIN number backwards the ATM will still dispense cash but will alert the police that you are being held hostage.

Another thing that winds me up is when people on Facebook ask if any knows the lotto numbers or the number of the OOH ect. YOU HAVE INTERNET GOOGLE IT.

Recently a friend posted on his timeline about a woman who had an anonymous friend request from a nice looking man, so she accepted it, then the next day she posted a picture of her child's first day at school, turned up in the afternoon to discover said stranger had collected her child from school to abduct and murder them. he got loads of likes and "oh, thanks for sharing," type response, and when I posted that it was all bollocks he replied "but if it helps one person then it's worth it." no you idiot it is just scaremongering spam, and if random strangers turn up at your school to abduct your children and they let them go then your school has some major safeguarding issues.

In addition to those mentioned, I hate the 'these two people stole a charity collection box from [place] let's name and shame them' with absolutely NO reference to a police website/newspaper article or anything to convince me that it's not just a post made by someone who held a grudge against someone else.

I will share official police pictures of missing people.
However how stupid can you be to share a picture of a missing child with no idea if that child is missing or is it a way for an ex to track down the person who has left

I will share official police pictures of missing people.
Fine so long as its your local police .....

One I saw this week turned out - when you tracked right the way back - to be Oregon 4 months ago ....

Dammit! Someone got in with an Abe Lincoln quote before me

Hollin, I was told to use 112... by the berk that did my first aid training.

I'm glad I didn't listen to him.

Still, he was better than the last one who said even a slight overdose of paracetamol would kill you and turn your blood to jam. She even encouraged us trainees to all poll that we want the stuff only available on prescription. Absolutely barking.

Someone shared a photo of a missing child on mine last year. No date or anything on the picture, but it said the child was three. Child is a classmate of one of my children (and no longer three!). How sad that so long after the situation has been resolved, the picture is STILL circulating and nothing can be done about it.

Actually it looks like 112 is a genuine emergency number (not that it connects you directly to the police as per that bollocks story)

www.gov.uk/government/news/112-a-brand-of-perfume-or-the-number-for-emergency-services-in-the-eu

I was just about to come on and say I haven't seen any good old spoofs for a while, and then I go over to Facebook and see one of my friends list has posted the "don't go out on Boxing Day in Meadowhall" one followed by another one sharing it on her wall.
I've directed them to the snopes link. They're going to hate me for actually checking and being a calm, reasonable know it all instead of panicking, aren't they...
WHY do people fall for guff like that? As you say, takes minutes to google!

Sorry I haven't read the thread so apologies if it's moved on.

It's because some well-meaning people are desperate to tell the story of the Magical Negro.

Telling lies and being deeply patronising while at it doesn't matter because they believe their hearts are in the right place.

There's a long thread at the moment which is doing quite extraordinary acrobatics to try to defend a cab driver who was offensive to a woman.

Yes this is a TAAT but I believe it is relevant

and at least every couple of months I have to remind people that mammograms are free on the NHS

I was told the 112 thing on a first aid course too - he said it traced the call to where the phone was located, is this not true then?

112

• Is an alternative to 999. It works in all EU countries.
• Doesn't connect directly to any service, it's the same as 999.
• Cannot make a call where there's no signal (how could it?!)
• Is not magically traceable.

Yes, services can locate you from your mobile phone. Google, Apple, Microsoft and your service provider can do it - so can emergency services.

Any post that starts "This -- saw this happen he/she didn't believe what happened next...
I don't care.
I remember hearing about a potential attack happening at Meadowhall in the early 90s.AND the one about small child being kidnapped, head shaved and clothes changed. Heard it yesterday about shopping centre in Australia.

Why?

Because everything on the internet is true.

My dsis also shares posts with photos of a letter that has been sent out by the local police force about not pulling over for unmarked cars and calling 112, gangs flashing and murdering people, several kids from the local school being pulled into vans etc. Except they're riddled with spelling mistakes, use language like 'cops', 'highway' etc and are quite obviously fake. She lives in England and is perfectly literate so I have no idea why she does it! It's bloody obvious!

Should say gangs flashing their lights at drivers and murdering them as an initiation!