Terror rumors, With no shortage of rumors, hoaxes, urban legends and other tales circulating online since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Internet user Eric Barbut has a simple way of sorting fact from fiction.
hoaxes flood Internet
Some Web sites serve to debunk
erroneous or malicious reportsBy B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.comUnless he recognizes incoming e-mail as personal correspondence, he doesn't even bother with it.
"If there's some garbage, that I just throw out," Barbut said recently while working at a computer station at Coffee Cove Online, an Internet cafe. "I'm sure that there's misinformation out there, I just don't see it."
That's just one way to avoid being had.
As information and misinformation about the terrorist attacks circulates with the click of a mouse, some observers say treating any and all reports or messages with a little skepticism is perhaps the best way to avoid being duped or, worse, being scammed.
"There's no mechanical way to weed things out," said Stephen Itoga, chairman of the Information and Computer Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Some Internet sites that track the validity of urban legends, rumors, hoaxes and other stories that circulate online have set up Web pages devoted to information stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Among them: Curbin' legends
>> Urban Legends Reference Pages: www.snopes.com.
>> Urban Legends Research Centre: www.ulrc.com.au.
>> Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal: www.csicop.org.
>> About.com Urban Legends and Folklore: www.urbanlegends.about.com.
"I would say use very conservative judgment when reviewing any material on the Internet," he added. "In this particular period, I would say be doubly conservative and careful."
Almost three weeks after the attacks, rumors, hoaxes and urban legends continue to crowd the Internet.
Take, for example, the rumors of Arab-American Dunkin' Donuts employees in New Jersey celebrating after the attacks, a story that has been proved false, according to one Web site that tracks urban legends.
Then there's the photo being circulated that purportedly depicts a tourist on the World Trade Center's observation deck just seconds before an American Airlines plane slammed into the building. The accompanying e-mail claims that the camera that snapped the photo miraculously survived the trade towers' collapse.
"I got that. I thought it was real," UH student Rachelle Lewis, 19, said with an embarrassed shrug. "I guess it's just something they think is entertaining but other people are offended by. They probably weren't even thinking about that when they sent it."
Or there's the story of a United Airlines pilot who, after Sept. 11, delivered a stirring pre-flight speech instructing passengers in how to rise up and fend off any hijackers. The story has proved to be true based on newspaper reports that verified the account of a passenger on the flight.
The rise of rumors and hoaxes doesn't surprise Barbara Mikkelson.
Mikkelson and her husband, David, track down such stories for their Web site, the Urban Legends Reference Pages at www.snopes.com.
"This isn't an unusual condition," Mikkelson said. "Any time there's been a major disaster ... there will be a huge upswing in rumors and stories. It's just our way of reaching out to touch others."
But unlike embellished stories, doctored photos and other pranks, some items are more malicious.
One e-mail, entitled "Peace Between America and Islam," carries the message, "Hi. Is it a war against America or Islam!? Let's vote to live in peace!" But an attachment labeled "WTC.EXE" actually is a computer virus. Internet security companies warned computer users of the virus last week.
"At any time viruses are bad. But now, to try to associate the activity with this kind of catastrophic event is worse," Itoga said. "People might not be as careful as they may normally be because of the situation and the stress that they have."
Arthur Moreno, logging on to a computer at Coffee Cove recently, said he tends to scrutinize a lot of things he finds online, whether it be a news and information portal or an online shopping site.
He has no plans to change his habits now.
"With hoaxes there's no way to really sort that out," he said. "You have to look at the information, and sometimes you have to look at it with a grain of salt."
