Post by auntym on Jan 9, 2014 14:58:51 GMT -6
www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-hill/a-ruse-by-any-other-name-_b_4568038.html
A Ruse By Any Other Name, Still Stinks
Sharon Hill
Researcher, scientific consultant, Editor of DoubtfulNews.com
Posted: 01/09/2014
As one who runs a website about weird news, it's been a crazy start to the year. A number of hoaxes proliferating around the media the first week of this year. They are passed on almost with the same respect as actual news. If you resolve to do anything this year, resolve to doubt the news when it sounds too outrageous or too weird to be true. Because it's probably not.
There are too many urban legends and popular rumors going around to follow at any one time, but let's take a quick look at some of the major hoaxes that recently created hype in the media.
Made for TV hoaxes
Not counting the Punk'd and Candid Camera-type practical joke setups that are humorous (if rather mean), several television programs aim their hoaxes at the public, making them realistic, and keeping the background a secret as the bizarre video goes viral across the web.
In July, in Whitstable, Kent, U.K, a video from a medicine shop's closed circuit television showed a man surprised by a falling box. But before the fall, the camera captures the box defying gravity, levitating off the shelf, hanging there for a moment, then dropping. Was this paranormal activity? (There were obvious signs that it was not.) It was such a fun video that it was passed around extensively. Finally, in December, it was revealed as a hoax for a TV show. The reveal happened on a broadcast that did not get good ratings. Most people may still assume the video was actual evidence for paranormal activity.
The case of the glowing squid-like mystery creature in Bristol harbor, also in the U.K., didn't hang on quite as long. People in the harbor sounded amazed to see and film a bright, pulsating animal that did not look like a machine. It looked like something out of this world! The prank was released on YouTube as part of a marketing stunt by UKTV's entertainment channel, Watch, to launch the show "The Happenings". I really wanted that bioluminescent beastie to be real.
Other viral marketing campaigns have occurred for movies and TV shows in the past. A photo showing a Civil War era crew with a prehistoric flying reptile was long ago revealed to be a hoax from the show Freaky Links. The photo still circulates around websites and forum. I've even seen it used in a presentation at a paranormal conference with no mention it was not genuine. It's used as "evidence" that these extinct animals may be still alive in the U.S. -- a fun idea but complete fantasy.
Paranormal investigators, UFO researchers and Bigfoot searchers have to deal with this problem. A considerable portion of the media coverage of their pet subject areas is about deliberate faking. Serious researchers get pretty angry about it. But, let's face it, if hoaxes are probably the 2nd most likely conclusion behind mistaken identification, you have some serious credibility issues to overcome. The obvious hoaxers gain more attention than those attempting to remain respectable.
CONTINUE READING: www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-hill/a-ruse-by-any-other-name-_b_4568038.html
DOUBTFUL NEWS: doubtfulnews.com/category/hoaxes/
A Ruse By Any Other Name, Still Stinks
Sharon Hill
Researcher, scientific consultant, Editor of DoubtfulNews.com
Posted: 01/09/2014
As one who runs a website about weird news, it's been a crazy start to the year. A number of hoaxes proliferating around the media the first week of this year. They are passed on almost with the same respect as actual news. If you resolve to do anything this year, resolve to doubt the news when it sounds too outrageous or too weird to be true. Because it's probably not.
There are too many urban legends and popular rumors going around to follow at any one time, but let's take a quick look at some of the major hoaxes that recently created hype in the media.
Made for TV hoaxes
Not counting the Punk'd and Candid Camera-type practical joke setups that are humorous (if rather mean), several television programs aim their hoaxes at the public, making them realistic, and keeping the background a secret as the bizarre video goes viral across the web.
In July, in Whitstable, Kent, U.K, a video from a medicine shop's closed circuit television showed a man surprised by a falling box. But before the fall, the camera captures the box defying gravity, levitating off the shelf, hanging there for a moment, then dropping. Was this paranormal activity? (There were obvious signs that it was not.) It was such a fun video that it was passed around extensively. Finally, in December, it was revealed as a hoax for a TV show. The reveal happened on a broadcast that did not get good ratings. Most people may still assume the video was actual evidence for paranormal activity.
The case of the glowing squid-like mystery creature in Bristol harbor, also in the U.K., didn't hang on quite as long. People in the harbor sounded amazed to see and film a bright, pulsating animal that did not look like a machine. It looked like something out of this world! The prank was released on YouTube as part of a marketing stunt by UKTV's entertainment channel, Watch, to launch the show "The Happenings". I really wanted that bioluminescent beastie to be real.
Other viral marketing campaigns have occurred for movies and TV shows in the past. A photo showing a Civil War era crew with a prehistoric flying reptile was long ago revealed to be a hoax from the show Freaky Links. The photo still circulates around websites and forum. I've even seen it used in a presentation at a paranormal conference with no mention it was not genuine. It's used as "evidence" that these extinct animals may be still alive in the U.S. -- a fun idea but complete fantasy.
Paranormal investigators, UFO researchers and Bigfoot searchers have to deal with this problem. A considerable portion of the media coverage of their pet subject areas is about deliberate faking. Serious researchers get pretty angry about it. But, let's face it, if hoaxes are probably the 2nd most likely conclusion behind mistaken identification, you have some serious credibility issues to overcome. The obvious hoaxers gain more attention than those attempting to remain respectable.
CONTINUE READING: www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-hill/a-ruse-by-any-other-name-_b_4568038.html
DOUBTFUL NEWS: doubtfulnews.com/category/hoaxes/
Hope all is well with everyone. I see there are some new members , thats good. So good to see your names on threads and be back!