Customer Finds a Penis Inside the Bottle of a Fruit Drink–Fiction! Summary of eRumor:This is said to be an article from the Denver Post newspaper. It tells the story of a Colorado man who discovered what appeared to be a penis in a 20-ounce bottle of “Ora Potency Fruit Punch.” Forty-one year old …
Customer finds a penis inside the bottle of a fruit drink-Fiction! Read More »
The POW’s Confrontation with Anti-War Protestors in Idaho–Fiction! Summary of eRumor:This is a long story (it appears below) about a macho confrontation between a Vietnam era American POW and anti-war demonstrators in the university town of Moscow, Idaho. The protestors were against the U.S. military action in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on …
The POW confronts anti-war protestors in Moscow, Idaho-Fiction! Read More »
Virus named “Osama Vs Bush” or “This War Will Affect the World Economy”–Fiction! Summary of eRumor:A virus warning that says a virus named “Osama Vs Bush” will erase your entire hard drive. If you open it, it asks “will this war affect the world economy?” The writer says it has caused major damage …
The Woman who Died of Paget’s Disease of the Nipple-Unproven! Summary of eRumor: The email tells the story of a woman who went through a variety of diagnoses and misdiagnoses before eventually dying of cancer. The warning is about “Paget’s Disease of the Nipple.” The Truth: According to many medical groups including the Mayo Clinic, …
The woman who died of Paget's disease of the nipple-Unproven! Read More »
Pasadena Police-Hotel Key Cards A false eRumor claims that those credit-card sized cards that you get in hotels and that you use as a key to get into your room can contain your confidential financial information–so don’t lose it. In 2003, a version of the eRumor started circulating saying that it had come from the …
Proposal to Create a “Department of Peace”–Truth! Summary of eRumor:It is alleged that Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has introduced a bill in congress to create a new cabinet level agency called “The Department of Peace.” The Truth: This is true. According to congressman’s website, the bill would create the agency, which would …
A Drug Recall of Some Popular Cold and Sinus Medications that Contain a Substance That The FDA has banned-Truth! & Fiction! Summary of eRumor: There are several different versions of emails warning against taking medications that contain phenylpropanolamine, which is popular in cold and decongestant products as well as some weight loss products. Some …
Popular substance in cold medications pulled from the shelves-Truth!
& Fiction! Read More »
Research has shown that a well-meaning holiday warning overstates the plants’ toxicity.
Like so much online disinformation, a fearmongering copypasta involving perfume first saw light as a chain email. The text pushed the hoary claim that several women were killed by mysterious perfume samples; as we have reported before, it was later adapted to involve a non-existent hospital and “terrorist” threats. The newer version read: URGENT news …
‘Seven Women Have Died From Smelling Free Perfume Samples’ Read More »
Two Instant Messages Warned of the World Trade Center Attacks before They Happened–Unproven! Summary of eRumor:The email says that a couple of messages were received by two employees of the instant messaging company Odigo that warned of the World Trade Center Attack two hours before they occurred. The Truth: This is a report …
