Forwarding Deception

The internet has truly changed the way we communicate and find information.

Email is a great way to stay in touch, but many people are using it to spread falsehoods and lies - some unknowingly.

In recent weeks, I received two email forwards. Most people forward emails they like or agree with, rather than find out if it is true first. It is amazing what information you can find with a simple GOOGLE search.

Email #1: "Fwd: The Real SOCIAL SECURITY"

This extremely partisan email consists of half-truths and outright lies blaming Democrats for anything and everything wrong with Social Security, and people more concerned with an agenda than truth forward this without checking the facts.

Luckily, using the power of the internet, I stumbled across a web site, who seems to be non-partisan by the way, who investigated the claims of this email - FactCheck.org.

While Democrats were blamed for taxing Social Security benefits, FactCheck.org shows a photo of the President signing the tax bill into law. The year? 1983. The President? Ronald Reagan.

Click here to read the FactCheck.org article. It shows the original email along with the truth.

Email #2: "Fwd: Beware - Heinz Kerry"

This email makes outrageous claims that Senator John Kerry's wife, Teresa, has been donating money to fringe political groups and organizations through the Tides Foundation.

It begins with her life's history - where she grew up, went to school, who she married, etc. It then attempts to paint her character as moving to the "far left" and how she would be a dangerous first lady.

One thing the email does not do is give any references as to where the "information" was attained. In no way does it back up it's many claims.

Maxwell King, President of Heinz Endowments, clears up the falsehoods in the email, and gives the background to where the rumor started.

The "story" (if you can call it that) originated in an opinion column by the Capital Research Center, a conservative organization based in Washington, D.C. In the "story", the argument is made that the money from the Heinz Endowments can be used for anything the Tides Foundation wants to use it for.

There are many problems with this argument - a main one being that there is a legally binding contract. Because of this contract, every cent from the Heinz Endowments must go to specific projects in Pennsylvania. It cannot be "redirected" into anything else.

There are other problems with that argument, and King explains them in detail.
Click here to read the email and the facts at this Urban Legends Reference Page.

more info:
FactCheck.org
Urban Legends Reference Pages at Snopes.com
Urban Legends
Tides Foundation