Investigate It Before You Disseminate It.

You’ve seen it – the forwarded email that claims that Bill Gates is going to give away money – lots of it! And all you have to do is forward an email. The email claims:

“[for] a two week time period . . . For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you $245.00, for every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $243.00 and for every third person that receives it, you will be paid $241.00. Within two weeks, Microsoft will contact you for your address and then send you a cheque.”

Now, I have no problem with the way our allies across the Atlantic spell things and I'm not a Europhobe, but my first problem with this “offer” is that, as an American, I am a bit more trusting of an offer to receive a “check” rather than a “cheque.” Now, if this little clue that there might be something amiss about this email offer does not quicken your sense of suspicion, then the fact that someone is offering to give you money for doing basically NOTHING should be a good indication than something just isn’t right about this. “But Geez, Louis,” you lament. “It sounded so genuine!” Well, that’s because the people who create these elaborate hoaxes are dedicated to the successful proliferation of their handiwork. They spend a great deal of time making their “product” sound as genuine and as believable as possible.

Now, I’m just a guy thinking – but if one simply utilized modern information technology, i.e., television, internet, radio, etc., then even Jesus would have a hard time selling a hoax (not that He would gossip or lie in the first place – but I think you get my point). Most times, whether an incident or a story is true or not can be quickly determined by going to Google, Yahoo, or countless other search engines and simply typing in key words or phrases, and Voila!! Nothing! Yeah -- oftentimes, that’s exactly what your search yields – nothing. No information about Bill or Microsoft writing “cheques” or even “checks” to anyone. And money-gaining hoaxes are not even the most common types of hoaxes. Anything that incites fear or anger is bound to get forwarded – and believed! I will not recount the countless ones that I have received; but I will share one that was forwarded to my inbox this morning. The person who sent it to me finds my distain for internet rumors and gossip quite hilarious; so she couldn’t help herself by happily sharing it with me.

This gem was found at mediatakeout.com – supposedly “the most visited urban website in the world.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it; I had not – until now. Anyway, this particular article -- which is not actually an article but a photographic image, depicts a Black man standing in front of a Costco store, supposedly located in Greensboro, North Carolina, holding an un-opened doll box – you know, the one with the clear, plastic window so that one can see the doll, and the accessories inside. A close-up of the doll reveals that it is a Black, girl doll called “Cuddle With Me.” The package is complete with the doll and (hold on to your seats), a plush MONKEY, a plush banana, a doll bib, a MONKEY bib, a baby bottle, a MONKEY bottle, a MONKEY rattler, and an absolutely adorable little cap that sits atop the baby’s head with the writing “lil’ MONKEY” written across the front. (emphasis added on “MONKEY”)

Upon seeing this image, I indignantly exclaimed, “What the . . . Heck!” (notice my effort to clean up my language.) “This is unacceptable,” I thought. What idiot inventor, manufacturer or distributor would stoop so low to create and market such a despicable product? This outrage cannot stand, and anyone on the side of decency should take to the streets with their figurative (and maybe, literal) pitchforks and torches and dispense with the bigots associated with this foolishness. Then, after the blood vessels in my eyes contracted back to normal, I thought to myself, “wait a minute! Costco can’t be THAT stupid! Can they?” So, after reading some of the incensed comments posted beneath the image, I decided that I would undertake the monumental task of Googling the words “Costco,” “Cuddle With Me,” “North Carolina” and “monkey.” I did find a “Cuddle Me Doll” and I did get something about a little monkey being cuddled – but it was a cat, not a Black baby that was doing the cuddling.

A Yahoo search, an Ask.com search and a search of Greensboro local newspaper and internet news did not yield any results concerning this horrendous spectacle. Since I saw nothing to corroborate that this product was actually on the market – and being sold wholesale, no less, I concluded that this just might be another internet hoax. So, if it is not true that Costco sells such a blatantly racist product, then where did it come from and why would someone claim that Costco sells it? Diving headlong into trying to figure out the answers to those questions would be an exercise in futility since it invariably leads to the question of “why do people do the things they do” – raising questions concerning defamation, revenge, etc., the endless speculation about which would cause your nose to bleed. I believe the more important question that should be asked is simply “Is this true?” Now, it is not lost to me that SOMEONE created a shamefully racist product. But associating Costco with it, if indeed Costco was not associated with it, is just wrong. And propagating it as fact is irresponsible without stronger proof.

When one takes on the dissemination of information, one takes on a great responsibility. We often assign such responsibility to those in the formal or incorporated news industry. But every person with the ability to communicate in any fashion or form is a member of a grand network of information distribution. Misinformation, half-truths or flat lies are inherently dangerous. Wars have begun with rumors; and social unrest is undergirded by baseless conjecture. Lives, careers, marriages, businesses and peaceful existence have been ruined because unsubstantiated information was passed on to others. Many of us simply do not undertake the DUTY to read and research the validity of claims or rumors. I, by nature and training, do not believe . . . squat (see – I didn’t cuss!) that I hear or read – particularly when I hear it or read it from an other-than-personally-known source. We question rumors and assertions about how healthcare reform will destroy Medicare, Medicaid or will create “death panels” to determine who will live or die; but we will not question whether it is true or not that a truck-driving, half-man, half-wildebeest terrorizing Suburban Maryland is a CIA operative who is plotting to destroy the Black male population. We will forward that email and tell our friends, families and contacts to “be careful and watch out for that thing!”

Now, I am not saying that ALL rumors are false. Some prove to be true. I am simply advocating what I like to call “educated dissemination.” At least make an effort to assess the validity or truth about a story before shooting it to millions of people across the planet. Hey – it’s just a thought . . .