Barack Obama vs. the Internet rumor machine

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Barack Obama vs. the Internet rumor machine
Jun 10 2008

"Forward": the marvelous technology that allows truths and untruths alike to be propagated widely, instantly, and at no cost to the sender.

Thanks to Forward-thinking citizens, the online rumors are flying in this campaign like no campaign season before. Dozens and even hundreds of different e-mail chain letters -- most targeting Sen. Barack Obama -- are being circulated in the Internet's muggy back channels, where context suffers and falsehoods flourish. Add in the parts of the political blogosphere that survive on speculation and unsourced hearsay, and you have a petri dish capable of growing such vivid rumors that the best of them actually make it into the mouths of the Washington press corps -- without so much as a factoid to back them up.

At Snopes.com, the urban legends clearinghouse run by a couple in the San Fernando Valley, Barack Obama's page has 18 entries, only one of which Snopes determined to be true. Of the rest, Snopes rated 11 false, four partly true and two undetermined. The same pattern holds true at PolitiFact.com, a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly. In its "Chain Emails" section, 21 of the 25 e-mails they've reviewed are marked "Barely True," "False" or "Pants on Fire." Of those, 2 out of 3 were aimed at Obama, and the remainder at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Why Obama is such a magnet for outlandish Web allegations, while Clinton and especially Sen. John McCain have gotten off easier, invites some tricky questions....But it's hard to ignore that the rumors about Obama tend to have something to do with his being black. A glance at the Obama-related canards reveals that they mostly fall into three categories, which sometimes overlap: race, religion and patriotism. Part of the odd nature of Internet rumors which holds true here is that even after they've been debunked in multiple places and for some time, they continue to make the rounds....

Obama's campaign has set up a rumor-busting task force that maintains a Web page at Factcheck.barackobama.com, to address some of these stubborn allegations. One section, entitled "Obama Is Not and Has Never Been a Muslim," collates several articles from national media outlets, including two from The Times, that weigh against the claim. Another section, "Obama Is a Patriot Who Loves His Flag and His Country," has an even larger collection of supporting excerpts....

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/06/obama-forward-v.html

[corkhead]

1. Factcheck.barackobama.com looks to be a great link to send via "reply all" when sent that garbage

I didn't know about it. thanks for posting.

[progressoid]

2. There are some great links in that article! n/t

[BlooInBloo]

3. +5 creative cowardice points for "Why Obama is such a magnet... invites some tricky questions"

:rofl:

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Here's that entire paragraph --

It was a long article, and I was trying to stay within the posting limit:

"Why Obama is such a magnet for outlandish Web allegations, while Clinton and especially Sen. John McCain have gotten off easier, invites some tricky questions. No one I talked to for this story wanted to say that the candidate's race, an area that can bring out all kinds of rumor-fueling fears and resentments, is the primary factor. And maybe it isn't: The number of Americans online has grown plenty since 2004, and astronomically since 2000 -- there are a lot more great-aunts sending around e-mail petitions in big, colorful fonts. The Internet is now without a doubt the most effective rumor mill mankind has ever devised. But it's hard to ignore that the rumors about Obama tend to have something to do with his being black."

They do come back to the point that it's pretty obvious race has something to do with it.

[BlooInBloo]

5. :) That's the nicest way I've ever seen of being told I'm a lazy mo-fo!

:rofl:

[DeepModem Mom]

7. LOL!

No, that's my acknowledgment that I know that sometimes getting registered at the LAT is a pain in the a**!

[brindis_desala]

6. Brings to mind the "blind men and the elephant"

[Renew Deal]

8. One of the best things about no post limits is you get to post a lot.

I like that.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Me, too!

:hi: