Do people believe EVERYTHING they read online?
Does no one ever actually do their own research before quoting these damned rumors as gospel? Today, in Reive's LiveJournal friends list, someone printed the "foreign automotive corporations give nothing to 9-11 charities" and asked other people to debunk it. He evidently couldn't do the research himself, not even enough to go to snopes and find out the truth.
This annoys me, and perhaps frightens me, more than I would like to admit. People seem to want to believe unpleasant things, and opt for kneejerk patriotism over opinions based on facts.
Update: It is not fair to jump someone because they don't know the location of a good rumor-debunking site. And while I am on the other end of many spectra from the person in question, as far as I can tell, his intentions are always good, and he is actively interested in information, not just material to back up his prejudices.
This annoys me, and perhaps frightens me, more than I would like to admit. People seem to want to believe unpleasant things, and opt for kneejerk patriotism over opinions based on facts.
Update: It is not fair to jump someone because they don't know the location of a good rumor-debunking site. And while I am on the other end of many spectra from the person in question, as far as I can tell, his intentions are always good, and he is actively interested in information, not just material to back up his prejudices.