Every day we’re bombarded with e-mail of dubious origin and even more dubious veracity: messages that plead with us to find a missing kid or help a sick child, sign a petition to right some terrible injustice, take a stand on an important piece of pending legislation, forward a message to claim free merchandise, or take heed of the latest computer virus. The messages that aren’t outright hoaxes are often full of misinformation, and even the ones that have some truth to them are usually out-of-date by the time we receive them.
This is the place where the inboxer rebellion begins! The categories below should help you locate and identify whether that piece of e-mail you’ve received is a hoax, the truth, or something in between.
19 July 2018 - Although the the production or import of a chemical used in Freon will be banned in the U.S. beginning in 2020, Freon-based A/C units will not have to be replaced right away.
28 May 2018 - An insidious scam ends not with free gift cards, but with Facebook users involuntarily spamming the groups to which they belong.
10 May 2018 - A Facebook user claimed that a truck stop in Texas took down a flag because it offends "foreigners," but Flying J says in reality the flagpole is broken.
11 April 2018 - Rumors about Facebook's suppression of content (in this case posts supportive of President Trump) resurfaced after Sen. Ted Cruz referenced them.
20 March 2018 - According to a vague Facebook rumor, the grandson of a man named Jimmy Coyne was assaulted at school for refusing to participate in pro-gun control walkouts.
2 March 2018 - A Vibrant Body Company bra promotion has been linked to rumors of a human trafficking scheme.
7 February 2018 - The alleged trick of distracting a driver by cramming a plastic bottle in a wheel well runs counter to how most carjackers operate.
7 February 2018 - We found no evidence to suggest Costco toilet paper was any less safe for septic tanks than any other brand of bath tissue.
11 January 2018 - Two important Christian observances fall on dates that are also secular holidays in 2018.
26 December 2017 - A social media image highlighting a supposedly "amazing" aspect to the 2018 calendar is neither amazing nor accurate.
1 December 2017 - A mother's viral Facebook post reported that the 15-year-old girl was missing from her home in Orange, Texas.
24 February 2010 - Old hoax holds that a every time a particular message is shared, a company will donate money towards the medical care of a 14-year-old boy shot by his stepfather.
