The Top 10 Internet Legends:
1) Liking/Sharing on Facebook Helps Raise Money for the Underprivileged
The image of a malnourished child or a
handicapped soldier, etc. often pops up on the Facebook, requesting for a
‘like’ or ‘share’, to raise a dollar for each like or share for those
in need. Mark Zuckerberg may be the world’s second highest donator, and
NGOs might be trying to tie up with Facebook and utilize its possibly
‘Donate’ button, but, the likes and shares to not lead to the pooling of
money to be sent to the person in the image. It is possible to start
pages and conduct charitable work through the platform of Facebook, but,
Facebook doesn’t itself gather money, and the like and share buttons do
not work that way. This is an unauthorized sharing of distressed
people’s images by ‘like’-seekers, motivated to drive traffic towards
their page with a HOAX.
2) Mermaid Remains Found
On one hand, there is the image that
claimed that the body of a mermaid/alien was found off the Malaysian
sea-coast. On the other hand, there were the images that suggested that
the skeleton of mermaids have been excavated by archaeologists. While
the former is nothing but a sculpture by an artist named Juan Cabana,
the second one is not any skeleton, but, the result of digital
manipulation, with Worth1000 Photo Effects contest series of
Archaeological Anomalies being the main sources of the images. So,
mermaid/alien enthusiasts have to look for better proofs as these are
just a great HOAX.
3) Dog-face Plastic Surgery
If the images are to be believed, a
Brazilian man has gone under the knife to attack the snout of a dog to
his face to become the first Dog-man. The truth behind this HOAX is
that, Brazilian artist, Rodrigo Braga’s replica of his own head and had a
veterinary surgeon sew the silicone cast of a euthanized dog’s ears and
muzzle to it.
4) Giant Squid Raises Radioactive Gigantism
Dead bodies of giant squids measuring
160 feet seem to have started appearing at a furious rate, raising alarm
about radioactive gigantism, and was claimed to have originated from
the waters near a nuclear power plant in Japan. This flawed report is
SATIRICAL, and was published in the source site, Lightly Braised Turnip,
which publishes fake news. There is neither any local or national
report of this event, nor are the names that are involved with this
flawed report, real.
5) Eggs on Windshield/ Crying Babies Used by Criminals on Car Drivers
Crime alerts went viral about how
criminal gangs throw eggs at car windshields which turn white on being
wiped or sprayed with water and block the driver’s vision, forcing him
to stop the car, and possibly step out. This is the moments that the
criminals seize to attack the driver. Another warning said that crying
babies came asking for help to compel car drivers to stop. Yet, a third
one said that they are placing car seats with fake babies, with the same
motif. However, all these are a big HOAX, and no report has been found,
locally or nationally, in any part of the world. But, there is no
reason to not be on the guards.
6) Date Rape Drug
Warning was repeatedly advertised about
the rising prevalence of a ‘date rape’ drug named Progesterex, an
animal sterilizer, which was being used with Rohypnol to addle, sedate
and then rape a woman to the point where she remembers nothing the next
morning. It was also rumoured that Progesterex made sure that the woman
does not conceive as a result of the rape, and that the man’s semen
cannot be traced, with the permanent infertility i.e. disability to
conceive. While the concept of date rape is true, and Rohypnol is very
much prevalent, there is no such drug as Progesterex. Date rape drugs do
not cause infertility, either. While it is extremely important to be
cautious, this flawed and incomplete rumour is nothing but an urban
HOAX, probably meant to scare women into being more careful.
7) Oreo Cookies are Addictive
Messages online and some news reports
seem to suggest that the favourite chocolate cookies by Oreo are as
addictive as Cocaine. A study conducted at Connecticut College on rats
showed that given the options between rice cakes and Oreos spent as much
time on the wheel to eat Oreos as those rats that chose cocaine, given a
choice between a shot of saline and cocaine. Though it was found that
these cookies triggered more neurons on the pleasure centre of the brain
than drug abuse, these preliminary results are not enough to prove that
Oreos are as addictive as cocaine, or even if they are addictive, at
all. So, the report presents only a PARTIAL FACT. The claim or deduction
that Oreos contain cocaine is absolutely false.
8) Needles Spreading HIV
Several fear-inducing stories about how
needles bearing HIV are being placed at gas stations in Florida, movie
theatre seats in Dallas, pay-phone booths in Virginia, and similar
stories have been fiercely doing the round, promoting that this is some
vicious ploy to harm unsuspecting citizens. However, this is nothing but
a HOAX, as it has been denied by the police departments of all the
places have confirmed that no such case has been reported. There’s
neither any reason to panic, nor is it necessary to assume that people
will stoop to such a low, in order to be malicious.
9) Party Mehandi Cone with Chemicals
News began to spread about a Mehandi
cone named Party Mehndi Red Cone, which, when applied, caused such
blisters and infection that a woman was suggested amputation, while
another woman died of a skin disease. Apparently, warnings against the
use of this Red Cone for henna tattoos was being propagated by Aagha
Khan University Hospital. However, no evidence has been found to support
the authenticity of such incidents. But, the interest against these
cones probably rose because of the cases of skin problems arising from
their use. Skin irritations, pain, peeling off, scars,
hyper-pigmentation, etc. were reported on PakLinks forum. These problems
could be the cause because of para-phenylenediamine that can lead to
sensitivity of skin and allergies. So, the story is a MIXTURE OF HOAX
AND TRUTH.
10) Tampons Cause Cancer
The news was circulated about how 56
women dies due to carcinogenic chemicals in tampons/sanitary napkins,
but, it was never found to be reported or recorded. But, the concern
about their use was raised mainly because of the non-disclosure of the
ingredients, which are generally thought to be crude oil, plastic and
other potentially harmful chemicals, such as dioxin and furan which are
carcinogenic by-products of chlorine-bleaching processes used for
manufacturing paper products including women’s hygiene products and even
diapers. There are also other strong substances like OCDD or HxCDF.
Besides, these products also cause skin irritations. So, there might be
health issues associated with the use of these feminine products, though
nothing has been proved scientifically, and the risks are still being
researched. So, this is a MIXTURE OF HOAX AND TRUTH.
It is important to be judicious about
whether or not to believe and spread a rumour, simply because it is on
the internet. Remember that it could be the work of some
attention-seeker or prankster, or someone with a twisted desire to
create panic.
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