"Is spreading misinformation really all that different from terrorism?"

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Do you know someone who sends e-mail forwards that nearly always turn out to be false or mostly false?  Even though this is older (2011), here's a good "lesson" about those forwards that you can share.
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Media literacy lesson of the day: Debunking email forwards
By Ben Colmery, October 8, 2011

I recently received an email from someone I know who is a howitzer of email forwards that often reveal themselves to be false or only partly true with just a few minutes of research. In this post, you will see my response, which hopefully offers some media literacy insight into how to distinguish fact from fiction in email forwards.

The response is to an email about Israeli agent Juval Aviv (text of email here) and his supposed warnings about the grave danger America is in re: terrorists.

The recipient’s name has been excluded to protect his reputation (though he’s done his share of damage to it on his own with the constant barrage of email hoaxes over the years).

Viewer discretion is advised.

[Author's note:  I've inserted headings for instructional value that weren't in the original email].

Dear _________,

This link argues that the email you have forwarded me is false. http://www.snopes.com/rumors/soapbox/juvalaviv.asp

Do you fact check your forwards before you forward them, or do you just assume they must be fact?

I googled “Advice from an Israeli Agent Juval Aviv snopes” (click the link for guidance) and the link above was the first link that came up.

The second link was http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/a/juval_aviv.htm

Then, many of the next several links are from bloggers who are very certain this must be fact, without question, and some links of people who have posted it in comments on other people’s sites. It’s enough of an echo chamber to make the email forward almost seem like fact.

Now, I wouldn’t immediately blow this off simply because two sites show it to be a false story. But the thing is, what you forwarded to me predicted something coming in the next few months. Yet, Snopes published it in 2009. So, I can only conclude that your email forward is not accurate, as it is now 2011.

If you don’t fact check your forwards, can we really trust your beliefs?

It makes me wonder about your process for determining fact from falsehood, as this happens a fair amount with your forwards. It also makes it hard to trust what you send, and in my opinion, it weakens your arguments.

This makes it difficult to trust your forwards about the false climate science consensus conspiracy, Obama’s hidden agendas and illegitimacies as president, the dangers of illegal immigrants, the myth of moderate muslims and the impending terrorist threat of muslim extremism, and that race determines intelligence, among other contentions. This is not to say that there isn’t a false climate science consensus conspiracy, that Obama doesn’t have a hidden agenda and isn’t an illegitimate president, and so on. It’s just that I’ve received enough email forwards from you that have been shown to be false or inconclusive to cast a doubt on the rest of your forwards.

False email forwards often have these traits

One thing I have noticed is a lot of your forwards that end up being false exhibit certain traits, such as large font sizes, overuse of italics, multicolored text, and dire warnings about how we must act now or experience certain peril. It doesn’t mean that having these traits automatically renders them false. However, I do find it to be an immediate warning sign that I should check the forward’s facts.

Do you do any research before passing along these forwards that speak of certain peril? If not, I think you should, because doing this is not unlike whispering “fire” in a theater.

Is spreading misinformation really all that different from terrorism?

These messages are clearly all over the internet and filling up countless email inboxes. And with them, they are spreading misinformation, and reinforcing perspectives that encourage fearfulness, divisiveness, and in some cases, violence, which I think is very damaging to our society.

In the end, how is this all that different from terrorism?

And who exactly are these people writing these, and what are their agendas? Why are they so determined to make us all afraid of people who are different from us, and to make rash, ill-informed decisions, as they seem to be?

Hold yourself to the same standard as those you criticize

You have criticized “the media” as biased for misrepresenting truth and leaving out facts (I’ve received my share of “this is what the liberal media won’t tell you” emails from you). And yet, it feels at times that you don’t hold yourself to the same standard to which you feel these media should hold themselves.

I am not saying you shouldn’t forward emails that challenge prevailing viewpoints, question authorities or the motives of people you consider a threat, or shed light on real dangers of which people might not be aware. Please, continue to forward me emails that challenge my facts and my assumptions. I greatly appreciate them, and enjoy the challenge.

Please, check the facts before you hit “forward”

I’m just asking that you please, also, rigorously research the facts of the forward first, and consider viewpoints that challenge the assumptions of these forwards before you hit “forward.” And please, encourage the people in your network that forward these emails to do the same.
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