Not everything you read on the Internet is real, and yet we all have that one friend who carelessly shares hoaxes and can’t be bothered with fact-checking. Perhaps you do it too. A certain piece of news piques your interest so much that you can’t help but share it with your friends without confirming the validity of the news. That’s a mistake that you should stop doing.
What’s the Big Deal?
Many hoaxes today are spread through social networking websites. If you participate in the distribution of hoaxes, you’re wasting the time of your friends who have to sift through their news feed just to get to the other posts. Similarly, chain letters and hoaxes being spread on emails only take up space and consume bandwidth. Susceptible friends might also believe the hoax and take unnecessary actions.
Perhaps somehow you don’t still understand what the big deal is all about. You still believe sharing a seemingly harmless hoax story does no real damage. But things can do get worse. By passing a hoax along, you’re causing needless apprehension and paranoia in others. Hoaxes can have major consequences, and you have may have heard about them in the news: fake bomb threats delaying flights, lies on social media instigating racial prejudices, and false accusations destroying the lives of innocent people.
Suspicious posts can be particularly dangerous if they contain links to questionable websites. They could be tools used for fraud and financial crimes.
How Do You Recognize Hoaxes?
When you chance upon an interesting post, do not readily take it at face value. Step back and consider it from another perspective. If a suspicious message or post has one or more defining features listed below, it might be a hoax:
It Suggests a Reward for Taking Action or Threat of Punishment for Inaction
A hoax wants attention, and what better way to generate interest than with a promise of reward or threat of punishment? A hoax wants you to do something, usually to forward its message to everyone you know. It guarantees that your action (or lack thereof) will have consequences.
For instance, a hoax went viral in December 2015 for claiming that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would hand out $4.5 million, and people would only need to spread the supposed good news on their profile timeline to be one of the lucky 1000 random recipients. Facebook later confirmed that this was not true and clarified that Zuckerberg’s donation plans were intended for charity organizations.
That hoax is just one of many that regularly appear on Facebook. In late 2009, a hoax spread around proclaiming that Facebook would begin charging users with subscription fees. Once again, Facebook users were urged to share the warning message to their friends so that their use of the social network would remain free of charge. Worse, users were encouraged to visit a site and join a protest group, but the site was actually a means for hackers to hijack computers. One good thing about Facebook is that it’s free, and users can easily confirm that by checking the social network’s Help Center page.
It Claims to Be Legitimate
If the first thing a hoax declares is that it’s not a hoax, then you should already doubt it. A factual story relies on detailed supporting evidence to hold itself up. A hoax has no proof to establish its veracity, and must rely instead on playing with your emotions. More importantly, factual stories cite their sources, whereas hoaxes come from unidentified origins.
Its Source, if There’s Any, Is Some Obscure Website
Hoaxes may occasionally mention a source to sound genuine, but often the source is some website with hardly any credibility. The website may have a legitimate-sounding name and URL, but a careful inspection of the site should reveal oddities, such as incredulous content and lack of contact information. Note that anyone can set up a website with only a bit of effort and a small amount of money. So, you shouldn’t believe any claims made by hoaxes until at least reputable news sites carry them.
Speaking of reputable news sites, sometimes the hoax would mention one as its source. But if you do a simple search on that news agency’s website, you most likely won’t find any related article on the matter.
It Contains Errors in Grammar, Spelling, and Reasoning
You’d think the people behind hoaxes and scams are stupid, due to the fact that their deceptive posts and chain letters are riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. Sometimes, the logic behind their arguments could use some improvement too.
The fact is, hoaxers and scammers who are after profits and personal gains need to narrow their target audience. They write their fake stories and letters with a poor choice of words and intentional errors because bad writing weeds out anyone clever enough to recognize the scam. The ones that are left are the most gullible users who would likely respond and pay out. These victims are the vulnerable and easily confused, such as the elderly, the emotionally distraught and the illiterate.
It Has Been Shared or Forwarded Several Times
Many users often share a hoax to their friends because of the shocking headline. Sometimes, it’s because they want to steer clear of a dreadful fate (like getting haunted by a ghost at three in the morning) that would occur should they refuse to pass the hoax around. Simply put, hoaxes are made to be viral.
Still Unsure? How Else Can You Confirm a Hoax?
Several legit websites are dedicated to debunking hoaxes and scams. Examples include Snopes, TruthOrFiction.com, and Symantec Security Response. They provide valuable information regarding hoaxes, such as their origins, variations, and impact.
Alternately, a quick Google search should give you plenty of other references to check if a viral story is real or only masqueraded as such.
What Should You Do When You Find a Hoax?
Break the chain; stop spreading the hoax further. Verify the source, content, pictures and videos of a story before you decide to share it.
If you receive a hoax from a friend or family, let them know the repercussions of sharing fake stories and urban myths online. Talk to them in a polite and diplomatic manner so that you can help them realize their mistakes without hurting their ego.
If a hoax is involved in fraudulent schemes or cyber crimes, report it to the authorities. You can file a report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI or to the Federal Trade Commission.