Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2547-1001913722-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:23:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 31616 invoked by uid 510); 1 Oct 2001 05:22:12 -0000 Received: from n31.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.81) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 05:22:12 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2547-1001913722-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.55] by hp.egroups.com with NNFMP; 01 Oct 2001 05:22:02 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 1 Oct 2001 05:22:02 -0000 Received: (qmail 52103 invoked from network); 1 Oct 2001 05:22:02 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l9.egroups.com with QMQP; 1 Oct 2001 05:22:02 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 05:22:01 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id WAA20263 for iwar@onelist.com; Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:22:01 -0700 Message-Id: <200110010522.WAA20263@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:22:01 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Technology:.Terrorist.attacks.spawn.wave.of.online.rumors,.hoaxes] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Technology: Terrorist attacks spawn wave of online rumors, hoaxes Copyright Scripps Howard News Service The Urban Legends Reference Pages By ERIC HANSON and JON TEVLIN, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (September 28, 2001 11:22 a.m. EDT) - Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans have grieved and vented, and the world has commiserated on Internet discussion groups and in e-mails. Among the more unexpected voices is a Canadian broadcaster who died 17 years ago. Gordon Sinclair's feisty defense of America has been forwarded countless times, as if in response to the terrorist attacks. Sinclair's speech, originally an essay called "The Americans" or "America, the Good Neighbor," was written nearly 30 years ago during the Vietnam War. Its reappearance is one of dozens of attack-related hoaxes - exaggerated or half-true stories, out-and-out lies, petitions and requests - that have been streaming across the Internet since the attacks. That the Net is a breeding ground for rumors, conspiracy theories and dubiously sourced "eyewitness accounts" is no surprise - but the volume of these e-legends surprises even professional myth-debunkers and Internet experts. "I believe this is the first major world event where the Internet is being used (in this massive scale) to pass information," said Richard Davis, a psychologist and Internet behavior expert at York University in Toronto. "This (crisis) is highlighting the great things the Internet can do, and also the bad things it can do." "Our site is getting absolutely hammered," said Barbara Mikkelson, in California, who with her husband, David, writes books about urban legends and runs the six-year-old Urban Legends References Pages. They've created a link to a separate page solely to collect and investigate urban legends concerning the terrorist attacks. "It started late September the 11th, but by September the 12th it just started coming in waves. We've seen a tenfold increase in traffic. By the 13th, it was just wild," she said. Among the bogus stories is a Nostradamus prophecy about World War III being brought on by the fall of two brothers (supposedly represented by the World Trade Towers) and a report that CNN used old footage to falsely depict Palestinians celebrating after the attack. Other false rumors are spreading fast. Among them: - An image, supposedly recovered from the ruins, that purports to be a snapshot taken on the World Trade Center observation deck with the approaching hijacked jet in view. - A nationwide call to light a candle at a specified time for a photo to be taken by satellite. - A warning that sponges have been saturated with a deadly virus and are being mailed in blue envelopes anonymously and randomly. - A claim that people can aid the search for Osama bin Laden by donating money to a group of Estonian computer hackers. - The account of a man who was trapped high in one of the collapsing World Trade Center towers and rode the falling debris to safety. "We've never seen anything like this before," Mikkelson said. "A huge number of people from all over the place suddenly were fascinated by all of these rumors that were picked up both online and in face-to-face contact." Davis said false stories are usually started by people who feel helpless, but want to do something to help. He received many of the e-mails mentioned on Mikkelson's Web site and most were preceded with the words, "I never forward these, but... ." "It can be a way for people to find solace that other people feel as devastated as they do," Davis said. Other stories that would appear to be questionable have turned out to be true, Mikkelson said. A British record label actually did yank an upcoming CD from the production process to change its cover art, which depicted the twin towers exploding. Also true is the story about a United Airlines flight to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15. The pilot made a stirring patriotic speech that advised what to do if a terrorist attempts to take over, the e-mail says, and by the end the passengers were applauding and in tears. "It's all a reaching-out," said Mikkelson, "to say, 'I'm worried about this. Are you worried about it, too?"' But some of the e-legends are spreading racist propaganda. According to one report, thousands of Jewish citizens were warned in advance of the attack in New York and managed to escape. Not true. Another e-legend, which has been around for years and is being dredged up again, advises that the Microsoft Word program contains particular letter combinations in its Wingdings and Webdings fonts that would appear anti-Semitic. Mikkelson has known of that legend for about 10 years, and posts Microsoft's official statement on her Web site. "There is a very strong thread (among anti-Zionists) that blames the terrorist attacks in America on the Israelis," said Mikkelson. "More generally, there are a number of rumors coming up that have to do with so-and-so had previous knowledge of the attacks - as in, all the taxis were missing from in front of a hotel close to the World Trade Center that morning, or that so-and-so, who is highly placed in the government, called his daughter the night before and told her to get out of New York. "These are backlash rumors. (People are thinking) 'How could something so horrific happen and nobody could have known?' For some, the mind rejects that and says, 'Well, someone must have known,' and the stories just go on from there. "There's harm in some of this: It's creating a larger, more enveloping atmosphere of fear, where every shadow needs to be jumped at." Davis said that recipients of e-mails should be prepared for misinformation, and judge it accordingly. "Unlike Desert Storm, this war won't be followed on television - a lot of it will happen out of view," he said. "And two things start rumors: a lack of information and fear." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE VeriSign guide to security solutions for your web site: encrypting transactions, securing intranets, and more! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UnN2wB/m5_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:53 PST