KCP336 – New Media Technologies
Assignment 2 – Research Project
Due Friday, 8th October, 2004.
Copyright 2004 Leonard King
I don't know the percentage of the Internet that's valid, do you? Jesus, it's scary.
— Hunter S. Thompson, Atlantic Monthly interview, Aug. 26, 1997
Misleading information on the Internet has been, and is always likely to be, a problem. While the Internet allows more people than ever before to publish their thoughts, ideologies and opinions to a worldwide audience, the medium lacks an inherent system of quality regulation and error checking. This is aided by the networked nature of the Internet, the use of digital duplication, the seemingly deregulated and anonymous ability to publish information and the comparatively inexperienced user base to assist in the spread of memes; cultural replicators that are spread from mind to mind.
It is the purpose of this paper to research the issue by looking at memes,
what makes a particular meme successful and how they are likely to be disseminated.
In doing so, this should allow us to see if there are memetic elements used
by Internet hoaxes to assist in their spread. I will conclude by looking at
whether the Internet is not to be trusted, or whether there are signs that
it is establishing its own form of information regulation.
Hoaxes, trickery and scams are nothing new.
In 1917 two young girls duped their parents, and a large part of the English public, with photos showing them playing with “real” fairies in their backyard. It was another 60 years before they confessed it to be photographic trickery (Steindorf, 2004. Taylor, 2003).
In 1899 an article ran in major U.S. newspapers stating that the Chinese were tearing down the Great Wall of China, that a road was to be put in its place and that tenders were being taken from American companies. It would have been remembered as nothing more than a minor hoax, except for a fraudulent, but widely publicised, rumour that when the story reached China the people were so outraged they rose up against Western interests, thus sparking the Boxer Rebellion (Wilber, 1956).
Even the computer term “Trojan Horse” dates back to a far more ancient tale of deception.
So why have hoaxes, scams and misinformation become so prevalent in the information
age? Why in particular have they become so ubiquitous on the Internet? To
discover this, we shall begin by looking at how information and ideas are
spread and at the elements of Internet communication that nurture this information
dissemination.
Information holds certain values not found in industrial goods. It can be argued to be;
• Inconsumable – information is not consumed through use. It remains available for use regardless of how often it has been used.
• Untransferable – once internalised, information can be passed on to another without the original recipient losing it.
• Indivisible – for something to make sense as information it must be transferred in its entirety.
• Accumulative – new information can integrate with previous information to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
When combined with appropriate information technologies, this results in exponential increase of information (Green, 2002). This exponential growth has been seen on the Internet through its rapid growth and use, especially over the last ten years (ISC, 2004).
Several factors can be attributed to the Internet as a technology that
allows the accumulation, duplication and spread of information. Five stand
out in particular.
From its origins the Internet was conceived to connect multiple users through a decentralised system of computers. The work of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was to create a method of transmitting information asynchronously through multiple paths, such that it would not be stopped by a single blockage in the communication lines (Flew, 2004). The increased number of users, and therefore computers, worldwide (NUA, 2002) allows even greater ability for information to spread great distances very quickly.
Information is transmitted across the Internet using a digital format, i.e. a series of binary code, 0’s and 1’s, to represent the original information (Flew, 2004). The main benefit to this method is its ability to represent diverse forms of information (images, text, sound, etc.) using a common language that can be easily manipulated or copied, with negligible to no degradation to the quality of the original, and shared across a network (Feldman, 1997).
The ability to manipulate digital information so easily has prompted some to ask whether it’s possible to believe digital evidence such as digitised photographs. In March, 2004 a picture appeared on the Internet showing U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry on a stage at a 1972 political rally with actress Jane Fonda, the infamous “Hanoi Jane” of the Vietnam War. During a Presidential campaign where Kerry’s commitment to the ongoing military engagement overseas has been questioned, the picture made voters, especially ex-Vietnam veterans, ask if Kerry had sided with a woman many Americans consider a traitor (Mickelson, 2004). The picture proved to be false, a composite of two separate photographs seamlessly added together (Light, 2004).
As has already been touched on, the Internet has seen a huge increase in user numbers, especially over the last ten years. The estimated world total in 2002 was 605.5 Million users (NUA, 2002). Moreover, user take up of Internet services is the most rapid of any communications media to this point in recorded history (Green, 2002). During the Internet’s heady growth years of the 1990’s some estimates put the number of uninitiated users as high as 37% of online inhabitants (Bedell, 2002).
Given the perceptually anonymous nature of communication on the Internet, there is considerable evidence that behaviour on the World Wide Web, while not necessarily deviant, can be seen as disinhibited. While it is possible to track online movement through IP addresses, credit card payments, log files kept by web servers, and JavaScript “cookies” on an individual’s computer, this is hidden from most users. Instead, the online community is based on anonymity. If a user chooses, they can create a persona for the web, choosing their own identity, name, method of address and even gender (Joinson, 2003).
The Internet is, as mentioned previously, by its nature an international medium designed to allow the flow of information to continue even when parts of the network are inoperable. Countries such as China, Singapore, the U.S. and Australia have all tried regulating Internet content to varying degrees of success (Flew, 2003). In Australia the government has made attempts at halting the spread of spam (Department of treasury, 2004. p58), pornographic and offensive material (Parliament of Australia, 1999), Deceptive and Misleading commercial conduct (Scaleplus, 2004) and other pre-existing criminal offences. The James v Toben decision shows the extension of Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act 1975 to the internet. Dr Toben was ordered to remove an article hosted on the Internet that denied the Holocaust and questioned the intelligence of Jewish people who argued its truth.
"…the case confirms that, at least for Australian sites, the Internet is subject to the same legal standards as other forms of communications such as print, TV and radio." (Lim, 2002)
However, while there is case law in Australia that seems to indicate that an offence takes place where the information is published (i.e. where the viewer reads the web page. Joseph Gutnick, a Victorian businessman, held American company Dow Jones as libel over an article the latter published in an online newsletter. Despite the company offices being based in New York, U.S.A. and the files being transferred to computers in New Jersey, the court held that the defamation took place at the location the material was published, i.e. anywhere it could be accessed on the Internet. Therefore, it was viable for the Victorian court to hear the case rather than have the matter brought to the U.S.A. (Dow Jones v Gutnick, 2002) The case has only just been resolved by the High Court of Australia in Mr Gutnick's favour.), it has also been determined that the likelihood of pursuing matters through foreign courts is, at best, limited (ACCC v Chen, 2003).
Information does not naturally disseminate itself by itself. Ideas require some form of agent to integrate them, understand them and spread them. This notion of ideas as a kind of “mind virus” that replicates from person to person is known as “Memetics,” the study of memes.
First coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book “The Selfish Gene,” a meme can best be described as a “cultural replicator;” an information pattern held in an individual's memory which is capable of being copied to another individual's memory. This includes anything that can be learned or remembered; ideas, knowledge, habits, beliefs, skills, images, etc. (Heylighen, unknown). In practical terms this extends to such things as fashions, songs, belief in UFOs, religions, and urban legends (Blackmore, 2000).
Dawkins subscribed that memes replicate and fight for dominance with other contesting memes as a means of promoting cultural survival (in Blackmore, 2000). For instance, a meme that shows me how to speak a language and communicate with others is going to be helpful in creating social interaction, as well as increasing my standing in society, whereas a meme that tells me that jumping off a cliff will allow the gods to let me fly will end in disaster, as well as end the spread of the meme (Grant, 1990). Therefore, a meme requires three elements to be successful.
1. Copying/Fidelity – The easier the information is able to be copied and the less noise introduced between replications, the more likely the meme is to last beyond the first few iterations.
2. Fecundity – The faster the rate of copying, the more the meme will spread.
3. Longevity – The longer the information pattern survives, the more copies can be made from it (Buzzard, Clerman, Hildebrandt, Kidwell, and Skeen, 2003. Heylighen, 2001).
As can already be seen from the previous discussion about “Information and the Internet”, these elements are custom made for success using the Internet.
“Meme transmission over the network has a much higher copying-fidelity than communication through image, sound or word. Digitalisation allows the transfer of information without loss... Fecundity too is greatly increased, since computers can produce thousands of copies of a message in very little time. Longevity, finally, becomes potentially larger, since information can be stored indefinitely on disks or in archives. Together, these three properties ensure that memes can replicate much more efficiently via the networks... On the net, an idea can appear virtually simultaneously in different parts of the world, and spread independently of the distance or proximity between senders and receivers.” (Heylighen, 1997)
Francis Heylighen (2001), a research professor at the Free University of Brussels and editor of the Principia Cybernetica Project describes four stages of meme replication.
1. Assimilation – A successful meme must be able to “infect” i.e. enter into the memory of its new host, be understood, and be believed enough to have it taken seriously.
2. Retention – The meme must be retained in the host’s memory. Retention will depend on how important the idea is to you, and how often it is repeated, either by recurrent perception or by internal rehearsal.
3. Expression – To be able to replicate, a meme must be able to emerge from its memory shape and be expressed as physical information able to be understood by the new host.
4. Transmission – To be successful an expression must take the form of some sort of physical medium that supports the meme without too much loss or deformation of the original content. This may take the form of text, speech, photographs, artefacts or CD-ROM’s to name a few.
He then goes on to name 16 criteria that affect the ability of the meme to survive through the four stages. Four in particular seem to stand out in hoaxes, scams and false information. In the case of the first three listed, the criteria rely on a perception of truth rather than being empirically true.
• Coherence - Connection, consistency and support between new perception and existing memory trace.
• Utility - Useful memes are more likely to be effectively used and thus reinforced, making it more worthwhile for the host to do the effort to assimilate.
• Authority - Memes from authoritative sources, i.e. hosts or vehicles that are held in high regard or considered to represent expertise in the domain, will be more easily noticed and accepted.
• Proselytism - The degree to which the meme urges its host to maximally spread the meme to other hosts, will increase the rates of expression and transmission.
The way in which these elements express themselves practically will be discussed in the next section as I discuss several hoaxes that have appeared on the Internet over the last few years.
Images of the burning World Trade Center building reveal the face of Satan. Nostradamus predicted the attack on the twin towers in 1654 (Nostradamus died in 1566 (Johnson, 2001)). Pictures of a man on the observation deck of the tower show a highjacked jet approaching to crash. Stories spread of a man who “surfed” the collapsing tower to the ground, with only a broken leg to show for it (Mikkelson, 2004). These are just a few examples of hoaxes that did the rounds of the Internet following the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York on 11 September, 2001. While the hoaxes are varied, ranging from conspiracy theory to forged photographs to pareidolia (“…a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct.” (Carroll, 2004)), to expressions of hope, they maintain certain memetic similarities, especially the four meme survival criterion previously listed.
Of course, not all Post-September 11 rumours have been proven to be false
which allows longevity by association. Combined with the uncertainty of the
ongoing “War on Terror” they can still be found 3 years after
the event. For example, a hoax from 2002 that an unknown person had purchased
U.S. $30 000 in uniforms for an American delivery service (thus possibly allowing
terrorists to deliver bombs, chemicals, etc. without being noticed) on Internet
auction site EBay was revived in June of 2004 (Dawkins, 2004).
The Stella Awards were an email based newsletter designed to point out the supposed capriciousness of the American Tort law system. In 2002 the Stella Awards candidates included
o A Texas woman who received U.S. $780 000 in damages for breaking her ankle by tripping over her own misbehaving toddler in a furniture store.
o A Los Angeles man who won U.S. $74 000 and medical expenses when a car ran over his hand while he was stealing the hubcap.
o A Vermont man who was suing the police for not searching hard enough to find him after his escape from custody, which led to severe frostbite during his time hiding in a forest in the middle of Winter (St. Pierre, 2002).
All wonderful tales of stupidity and excess, except that none of them are true. However, this didn’t stop Justice David Ipp from quoting these hoax cases as fact, first in an address to a conference of Anaesthetists in Perth, then in his oration to the NSW Supreme Court in May, 2004. Similarly, a year before Queensland Chief Justice Paul de Jersey made reference to these same cases as fact at a medical conference in Italy (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). Obviously these respected legal figures found some elements that caused these memes to be assimilated and retained, such that they could transmit them (albeit to public ridicule) some time later.
The falsity of the Stella Awards “candidates” was brought to light by a website, overlawyered.com, which looks at the real excesses of the American legal system (Olson, 2004). Unfortunately, the authoritative figures that have expressed these memes have brought them beyond the sphere of the Internet and into the public record (Fortunately due to the ABC’s Mediawatch program’s handling of the event, Justice Ipp’s “Edited” version of his oration can be found at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/sc%5Csc.nsf/pages/ipp_110504).
While storage in files of legal discussion would hardly help the meme’s
publicity, if a potential host was unfamiliar with the meme’s history
they would be more likely to be influenced by the formality and authority
of the transmission.
On Saturday 07 August, 2004, a grainy video titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Slaughters an American" (“Zarqawi is an al-Qaida linked militant whose group, Tawhid and Jihad, has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks across Iraq, including the beheadings of U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sun-il and a Bulgarian man, Georgi Lazov.” (AP, 2004)) was hosted on Islamic Minbar, a militant Islamic Web site that has previously carried claims of violent acts that eventually were verified. It showed a man claiming to be Benjamin Vanderford of San Francisco pleading for his life. The video was intercut with grisly footage of mutilated victims from the Iraq war and concluded with Mr Vanderford’s head supposedly being sawed off with a knife by a second, unidentified man (BBC News, 2004). However, while graphic and horrifying there were inconsistencies with previous videos of this sort (the Agonist, 2004) (Interestingly, the referenced website links to the BBC site which has since gone on to correct the story. If not for these weblogs there would be no reference on mainstream media outlets that anyone in particular had been incorrect or fooled by this story).
This video was picked up and played by two Arabic television networks and by international news networks Reuters and Associated Press who in turn sent it to major media outlets. For approximately an hour the story ran as fact until rescinded by Reuters and Associated Press. They had made contact with the man at the San Francisco address he had given in the video, alive and well (Guthrie, Wallace, 2004)
Vanderford and two friends, Robert Martin and Laurie Kirchner, had created the video months before as a means of publicising Vanderford’s campaign for local office. When that failed they decided to post it on two peer-to-peer file sharing networks, Kazaa and SoulSeek, to see how far the video would spread. That was in May. The video was forgotten for several months until the events of early August (Associated Press (2), 2004).
Not surprisingly, the response from the American media was swift and vicious. While there were those that pointed out the press’ duty to verify information before broadcasting it as fact (Guthrie, Wallace. 2004), a portion, mainly those that had fallen for the hoax, chose to lambast the creators of the video as insensitive and traitorous. Vanderford, Martin and Kirchner (2004) have stated publicly that while they feel that the media attention has proven their point, they feel for those that have lost loved ones to terrorism and are sorry for any pain they caused.
An interesting element of this hoax was the accompanying Internet community response. As the story came to light, different weblogs updated and commented on the events (Examples include “The Agonist” (Agonist, 2004), Gavin’s Blog (Sheridan, 2004), The Galvin Opinion (Galvin, 2004) and the Museum of Hoaxes (Boese, 2004)). In doing so they were up to date with events, informed and empowered to make their own statements on the subject.
As mentioned earlier, four criteria stand out in successfully replicating hoax memes; Authority, Conformity, Utility and Proselytism. Elements such as telltale phrases like “This Is Not A Hoax”, overly emphatic language and “reports” that mimic a journalistic style and attribute “legitimate” sources all attempt to use the Authority criterion to mask their falsity. Similarly, these stories appear to offer the potential host elements that they feel connect with previous knowledge, possibly due to a lack of trust in the media to tell them the entire truth (Johnson, 2001). What they will likely lack, however, are links to external corroborating evidence, one of the Internet’s most useful attributes In doing so they set themselves up with a false Conformity, rather than a proven or evidential Conformity.
Hoax information also tends towards pushing emotional buttons in that they contain information we feel we would like to know. Whether it’s a promise of a 1000% return on a small investment through releasing funds from a Nigerian bank, or a warning to watch out for AIDS infected needles in gas pump handles, toilets or cinema seats, these memes utilise the Utility criterion to gain their effect. In doing so, they also set up hosts to Proselytise the message by passing on the important information to their friends and families. Messages like “Forward This to Everyone You Know” are common in hoax emails.
In the end it seems that this “cry wolf” attribute of web hoaxes has made it more difficult for memes of all sorts, legitimate or otherwise, to be assimilated and retained without being more critically examined first.
While there have been many attempts to regulate information on the internet
around the world, the effectiveness of these measures is still open to scrutiny
(Flew, 2004).
Meanwhile, as law courts and governments make these great, if somewhat ineffectual,
efforts, users of the Internet have been creating their own form of information
filter through their shear numbers. As mentioned earlier, an online presence
watched and commented on the development of the Ben Vanderford story, checking
with each other as the truth came to light. Similarly, after the September
11 attacks a large online community took part in rolling, rapid-fire discussions
on the tragedy, quick to point mistakes and falsehoods being presented as
fact on the Internet and mainstream media alike. It is this large scale community
that allows constant fact checking of the information that passes through
it (Bedell, 2002).
Due to its increasing popularity the Internet is constantly receiving new,
inexperienced users that fall prey to time-worn scams and misinformation.
Dr. Steve Jones, head of the Communications Department at the University of
Illinois, Chicago, suggests that people fall for old scams on the Net because
they're being presented in a new medium, and many don't yet have the skills
to critically assess that medium (Knight Ridder, 2002).
However this is an issue that will correct itself as the Internet community
matures. Richard Buhler, founder of TruthorFiction.com comments on the Internet
community’s dealings with receiving misinformation via email;
“If you send out something that is popularly untrue, you're going to get some immediate response from people who politely or impolitely will tell you. Either way, you feel like an idiot. (Bedell, 2003)"
An expression of the Internet’s community’s desire to self-regulate is the number of websites dedicated to challenging misinformation, frauds and hoaxes. As I researched this paper it seemed that every new article brought with it another hoax-busting website. The list contains the Urban Legends Reference Page (Mikkelson, 2004), V(irus)myths (Rosenberger, 2004), the Museum of Hoaxes (Boese, 2004), Scambusters.org (Lanford, 2004), Overlawyered.com (Olson, 2004) and many, many more, each one dedicated to debunking misinformation and assisting Internet users.
Of course, not all hoax information is necessarily a bad thing. Paul S Piper, a Librarian at the Western Washington University has this to say on the issue of Hoax web sites;
“Many such sites offer alternative perspectives to topics that have an almost hegemonic truth. Even hate sites can provide useful information in bringing to light material that is typically censored from most public discourse...
Hoax sites offer "teaching moments,"... The best of them will make us question why we believe some things and not others, providing a self-examination of how we view the world that is critical if we are going to truly analyze information.” (Piper, 2000)
In the end the Internet’s greatest strengths, its deregulation of ideas
and ease of transmission, have also been seen as its greatest weakness (Taranto,
2001). Combined with its wide reach, ease of information duplication and ability
to distribute massive amounts of information quickly and easily, it’s
not difficult to see why some have claimed “All of the Internet is fake!”
(Senft, 2001) It’s even true that not all “assistance” sites
may be altruistic, or even accurate, however as the ever growing Internet
community has learnt the best way to combat misinformation is by self action,
using their weight of numbers and constant presence to their advantage. This
unprecedented access to information may yet serve to create a public with
greater skills in information examination and verification.
----------
ACCC vs Chen (2003) 201 ALR 40
Agonist, the. (2004) “bbc: doubts on video emerge”
Available at http://scoop.agonist.org/story/2004/8/7/24313/06497
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Associated Press (2004) “American Beheaded in Islamic Online Video”
Available at http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040807_478.html
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Associated Press (2) (2004) “American fakes own decapitation in tape”
Available at http://www.newsletters.newsweek.msnbc.com/id/5629119/
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2004) “Mediawatch”
Available at http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/default.htm
Accessed 30 September, 2004.
BBC News (2004) “US man made hoax execution video”
Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3544032.stm
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Bedell, Doug.(2002) “Internet Hoaxes Start to Cost Companies” in Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jun 5, 2002. pg. 1
Blackmore, Susan. (2000) “The Power Of Memes” in Scientific American; Oct 2000, Vol. 283 Issue 4, p64, 3p, 6c, 2bw
Boese, Alex. (2004) “Museum of Hoaxes - Hoax Execution and ABC News”
Available at http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/vanderford/
Accessed on 09 October, 2004.
Buzzard, Christy, Clerman, Adi, Hildebrandt, Emily, Kidwell, Maura and Skeen,
Lucas. (2003) “What Is A Meme?”
Available at http://www.beloit.edu/%7Efyi/meme%20site/What.html
Accessed on 7 September, 2004.
Carroll, Robert Todd. (2004) “The Skeptic’s Dictionary –
pareidolia”
Available at http://www.skepdic.com/pareidol.html
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Dawkins, Pam. (2004) “Internet Hoax Claiming Sale of UPS Uniforms on eBay Makes Comeback” in Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jun 3, 2004. pg. 1
Department of Treasury (Australia) (2004) “The Little Black Book of
Scams: 4th Edition”
Available at http://www.consumersonline.gov.au/downloads/book_of_scams/LBBS_web%20version.pdf
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Dow Jones & Company vs Gutnick (2002) 210 CLR 575
Feldman, Tony. (1997) “An Introduction To Digital Media” Routledge, London.
Flew, Terry. (2004) “New Media: An Introduction” Oxford university Press, Melbourne, Vic.
Galvin, Thomas. (2004) The Galvin Opinion – “Who Is Benjamin
Vanderford? Candidate for Office in San Francisco Fakes Own Beheading on Video
Tape”
Available at http://thomasgalvin.blogspot.com/2004_08_07_thomasgalvin_archive.html#109189468305064317
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Goudy, Heather (2003) “Anti-Virus Research - Detecting Hoaxes as the
Spam they truly are”
Available at http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/newsinfo/collateral.aspx?cid=54086
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Goldsborough, Reid. (1999) “On the Web, seeing isn't always believing” in Techniques. Alexandria: Sep 1999. Vol. 74, Iss. 6; pg. 13, 1 pgs
Grant, Glenn. (1990) “Memes: Introduction” at Principia Cybernetica
Web.
Available at http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMIN.html
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Green, Leila. (2002) “Technoculture.” Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.
Guthrie, Julian. Wallace, Bill. (2004) “Web hoax fools news services”
Available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/08/MNGBN83I3U1.DTL
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Heylighen, Francis (2001). “Memetics” at Principia Cybernetica
Project.
Available at http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMES.html
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Heylighen, Francis (1997). “Memes on the Net” at Principia Cybernetica
Project.
Available at http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMENET.html
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Heylighen, Francis. (unknown) “What makes a meme successful? Selection
criteria for cultural evolution”
Available at http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/MemeticsNamur.html
Accessed on 7 September, 2004.
Internet Software Consortium (2004)
Available at http://www.isc.org/
Accessed on 02 October, 2004.
Ipp, Justice David. (2004) “Personal Responsibility in Australian Society
and Law: Striving for Balance - Edited version”
Available at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/sc%5Csc.nsf/pages/ipp_110504
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Johnson, Michelle. (2001) “Look To The Net To Debunk E-Mail Hoaxes, Rumors” in Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Oct 11, 2001. pg. C.13
Joinson, Adam N. (2003) “Understanding the Psychology of Internet Behaviour: Virtual Worlds, Real Lives” New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Knight Ridder, (2002) “Internet Makes Old-Fashioned Con Games a High-Speed Way to Rake in Cash” in Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jan 15, 2002. pg. 1
Lanford, Jim and Audri. (2004) “Scambusters”
Available at http://www.scambusters.org
Accessed 02 October, 2004.
Light, Ken (2004) “Fonda, Kerry and Photo Fakery” in Washington
Post, February 28, 2004; Page A21.
Available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A13810-2004Feb27¬Found=true
Accessed on 02 October, 2004.
Lim, Yee Fen (2002) “Jones v Toben - Racial Discrimination on the Internet”
Available at http://consult.galexia.com/public/research/articles/research_articles-art22.html
Accessed on 30 September, 2004.
Manjoo, Farhad. (2004) “A picture is no longer worth a thousand words”
available at http://www.med.sc.edu:1081/picturesworth.htm
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Martin, Robert. Vanderford, Benjamin and Kirchner, Laurie. (2004) “Iraq
Beheading Video Hoax Press Release.”
Available at http://videohoax.ctyme.com/
Accessed on 11 August, 2004.
Mikkelson, Barbara and David P. (2004) “Urban Legends Reference Page”
Available at http://www.snopes.com/
Accessed on 7 September, 2004.
MSNBC News Site (2004) “American fakes own decapitation in tape.”
Available at http://www.newsletters.newsweek.msnbc.com/id/5629119/
Accessed 08 August, 2004.
NUA Internet (2002) “How Many Online?”
Available at http://www.nua.com/surveys/how_many_online/
Accessed 02 October, 2004.
Olson, Walter. (2004) “Overlawyered.com”
Available at http://www.overlawyered.com/
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Parliament of Australia (1999) “Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online
Services) Bill 1999”
Available at http://www.aph.gov.au/parlinfo/billsnet/99077.pdf
Acccessed on 04 October, 2004.
Piper, Paul S. (2000) “Better read that again: Web Hoaxes and misinformation” in Searcher. Medford: Sep 2000. Vol. 8, Iss. 8; pg. 40, 10 pgs
Quittner, Joshua. (1995) “From god@heaven.org” in Time. New York: Jun 26, 1995. Vol. 145, Iss. 26; pg. 65, 1 pgs
Rosenberger, Rob. (2004) “Vmyths.com- Truth About Computer Virus Myths
& Hoaxes.”
Available at http://www.vmyths.com/
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Scaleplus Law Resource (2004) “Trade Practices Act 1974”
http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/html/pasteact/0/115/top.htm
Accessed on 30 September, 2004.
Senft, Theresa M. “Debating Reality: An Online Hoax Is Not a Pox” in New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jun 14, 2001. pg. G.8
Sheridan, Gavin. (2004) “Gavin’s Blog.com - Al-Qaeda group 'beheads
US man': Benjamin Vanderford?”
Available at http://www.gavinsblog.com/mt/archives/001480.html
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
St. Pierre, Brian. (2002) “Stella Award Nominations”
Available at http://www.bstpierre.org/Funny/StellaAwards.html
Accessed on 04 October, 2004.
Steindorf, Sara. (2004) “Historic hoaxes; and how not to be fooled yourself” in Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Mass.: Mar 30, 2004. pg. 18
Taranto, James. “In Praise of Online Journalism” in Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 27, 2001. pg. A.16
Taylor, Troy. (2003) “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & the Cottingley Fairies
Case”
Available at http://www.prairieghosts.com/fairies.html
Accessed 01 October, 2004.
Thisistrue.inc (2004) “The True Stella Awards”
Available at http://www.stellaawards.com/
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Wilber, Harry Lee. (1956) "A Fake That Rocked the World," in Great
Hoaxes of All Time, Robert Medill McBride and Neil Pritchie (eds.), Robert
C. McBride Co., New York, pp17-24.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2001) “8147.0 Use of the Internet
by Householders, Australia”
Available at http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/ae8e67619446db22ca2568a9001393f8?OpenDocument
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2004) “8153.0 Internet Activity,
Australia”
Available at http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookupMF/6445F12663006B83CA256A150079564D
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2004) “Year Book Australia, Culture
and Recreation, Radio and television broadcasting”
Available at http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/b88c3244931b10b0ca256dea000539f4?OpenDocument
Accessed on 24 September, 2004.
Barr, Trevor. (2000) “Newmedia.com.au” Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.
Berenson, Alex. “Fooled by fake news release, Bloomberg takes stock” in Journal Record. Oklahoma City, Okla.: Sep 11, 2000. pg. 1
Connolly, Chris. (2002) “Credibility on the Web”
Available at http://consult.galexia.com/public/research/articles/research_articles-art25.html
Accessed on 02 October, 2004.
Crispen, Patrick. (2004) “The Urban Legend Combat Kit”
Available at http://www.netsquirrel.com/combatkit/index.html
Accessed 02 October, 2004.
Crucial Marketing. (2004) “Viral Marketing – Word of Mouth Marketing”
Available at http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/viral_marketing/
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Dawkins, Richard. (1991) “Viruses Of The Mind.”
Available at http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Dawkins/viruses-of-the-mind.html
Accessed on 7 September, 2004.
Emery, David. (2004) “About: Urban Legends and Folklore”
Available at http://urbanlegends.about.com/
Accessed on 2 September, 2004.
Gelb, Betsy D. “Creating ‘Memes’ While Creating Advertising” in Journal of Advertising Research, 0021-8499, November 1, 1997, Vol. 37, Issue 6
Goldsborough, Reid. “The golden age of the Web is over. Or is it?” in Poptronics. Hauppauge: Dec 2001. Vol. 2, Iss. 12; pg. 25, 3 pgs
Goldsborough, Reid. “Can the Internet be trusted?” in Reading Today. Newark: Feb/Mar 2002. Vol. 19, Iss. 4; pg. 15, 1 pgs
Gurak, Laura J. (2001) “Cyberliteracy : navigating the Internet with awareness.” New Haven, Conn. Yale University Press.
Harris, Shane. “Cyber cops” in Government Executive. Washington: Jun 2001. Vol. 33, Iss. 7; pg. 39, 4 pgs
Jacob, Rahul and Williams, Frances. “Online hoax on Sars prompts HK panic buying” in Financial Times. London (UK): Apr 2, 2003. pg. 10
Jurvetson, Steve and Draper, Tim. (1998) “Viral Marketing”
Available at http://www.drapervc.com/files/viralmarketing.html
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Kotadia, Munir (2004) “Bin Laden 'suicide' virus recruits zombie army”
Available at http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,39122561,00.htm
Accessed on August 09, 2004.
Kreck, Dick. “Survival of the silliest: Darwin Awards winner a hoax” in Denver Post. Denver, Colo.: Aug 16, 1999. pg. A.02
London, Simon. “Web of words challenges traditional encyclopedias” in Financial Times. London (UK): Jul 28, 2004. pg. 18
Medved Quote Tracker Support Forums. (2004) “Osama suicide virus tainted
video”
Available at http://boards.quotetracker.com/board/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=31078&Main=31077
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
MessageLabs (2004) “Email Threats”
Available at http://www.messagelabs.com/emailthreats/
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Mikkelson, Barbara and David P. (2004) Urban Legends Reference Page.
Available at http://snopes.com/
Accessed on 7 September, 2004.
Milinovich, Gia (Reporter) (2002) “Meme Marketing” in Click Online,
BBC World, May 9, 2002.
Available at http://www.bbcworld.com/content/clickonline_archive_19_2002.asp?pageid=666&co_pageid=2
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Also available at http://www.theviralfactory.com/Press/2002/BBCWorldReport.wmv
Accessed on 31 July, 2004. (currently inoperable)
Rankin, Bob and Crispen, Patrick (2004) “The Internet Tourbus”
Available at http://www.tourbus.com/
Accessed on 02 October, 2004.
Reuters. (2004) “Osama's suicide virus pops on Net”
Available at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/790152.cms
Accessed on 09 August, 2004.
Rohan, Rebecca Frances. “How to spot an Internet hoax” in Black Enterprise. New York: Jun 1998. Vol. 28, Iss. 11; pg. 64, 2 pgs
Rohrbacher, Blake. (2000) “The Power of Viral Marketing”
Available at http://www.clickz.com/experts/crm/crm_strat/article.php/831941
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Security Stats.Com (2004) “Virus Related Statistics”
Available at http://www.securitystats.com/virusstats.html
Accessed on 03 October, 2004.
Shepard, Paul. “Internet-fueled hoax stirs blacks” in Denver Post. Denver, Colo.: Dec 3, 1998. pg. A.16
Sullivan, Kari. (2004) “Greedy Girl – Web marketing Blog”
Available at http://www.greedygirl.com/
Accessed on 31 July, 2004.
Terdiman, Daniel. “Wry Hoaxes Enliven the World of Web Diarists” in New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jul 29, 2004. pg. G.5
Viral Factory, the. (2004)
Available at http://www.theviralfactory.com/
Accessed 30 September 2004.
Wilson, Dr Ralph F. (2000) “The Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing”
in Web Marketing Today, Issue 70, February 1, 2000.
Available at http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
Accessed on 31 July, 2004.
Anonymous, “Investor sues over press release hoax; information distributors rethink policies” in Tax Management Financial Planning Journal. Washington: Sep 19, 2000. Vol. 16, Iss. 9; pg. 234, 2 pgs
Editorial, “WWW.Vonnegut.hoax.com” in Wall Street Journal. (Eastern
edition) New York, N.Y.: Aug 7, 1997. pg. A.14