Snopes.com

One of the hardest things to deal with on the Internet is figuring out what is true and what is false and what is confabulation: a lie sandwiched between two truths. So far the best tool I have found is Snopes.com. This tool is really wonderful because Snopes has people who work full time to research the truth about what is circulating on the Internet.

One recent absolutely outrageous lie was the one circulating about the bras being sold from China with flesh eating bacteria embedded in them. When Snopes.com was consulted, it turns out that while a there may be an unfortunate woman with flesh eating bacteria attacking her breasts, the photographs were doctored. One photograph was so astounding, it looked like larva had worked their way into this beleagured breast and were about to hatch. Snopes identified that this was the work of a doctored photo which overlayed a lotus flower seed pod over a breast. Sometimes we just have to be our own best detectives and do our own due diligence before forwarding things.

Perhaps I am not the only one who, in good consciencious has sent something I felt was important, however, I am now very, very careful what I send and still occassionally I make a mistake and forward something. So, in the future, I am working to be extra careful!