How Rumors Get Blown Out of Proportion on the Internet

[Timotei]

I think this situation can be easily explained by some graphs which I have constructed for this very occasion.

Spoiler: Graphs

[HEADING=1]A brief explanation as to why this happens.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]The given[/HEADING]

As Senator Ted Stevens has most eloquently stated prior to this occurrence: the Internet is a series of tubes, unlike the previous big truck it had once before been suspected of being as shown in Exhibit A.

[HEADING=3]The Process[/HEADING]

The process of the contamination of news is very simple. But before we can explain why, we must first explain how news is distributed to the masses.

First you must have an occurrence, or in this case, a Tweet. Usually a Tweet from a famous person regarding a certain subject is picked up by a journalism source and processed, and then picked up by your computer, which then displays the news through the monitor, as shown in Exhibit B.

However not every journalism source is known for it's accuracy, as these sources are often populated by male cows. These cows eat the raw news and then digest it, and in due time, defecate into the Tubes. This defecation process can repeat itself over time until the contaminated news is picked up by the more scholarly sources, where it is then cleaned and properly processed for distribution as shown in Exhibit C.

OT: I really find it sad just how easily news can be distorted. If online news organizations actually took a moment to do theis homework instead of rushing an article through then things like this wouldn't happen.

 

[Tharticus]

Well, this is why March Madness is srs bzns. After all, the internet is "srs bzns".

 

[RelexCryo]

On the bright side, this notified me to the contest, so I could vote for Cliffy B.

 

[John Funk]

I think this situation can be easily explained by some graphs which I have constructed for this very occasion.

Spoiler: Graphs

[HEADING=1]A brief explanation as to why this happens.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]The given[/HEADING]

As Senator Ted Stevens has most eloquently stated prior to this occurrence: the Internet is a series of tubes, unlike the previous big truck it had once before been suspected of being as shown in Exhibit A.

[HEADING=3]The Process[/HEADING]

The process of the contamination of news is very simple. But before we can explain why, we must first explain how news is distributed to the masses.

First you must have an occurrence, or in this case, a Tweet. Usually a Tweet from a famous person regarding a certain subject is picked up by a journalism source and processed, and then picked up by your computer, which then displays the news through the monitor, as shown in Exhibit B.

However not every journalism source is known for it's accuracy, as these sources are often populated by male cows. These cows eat the raw news and then digest it, and in due time, defecate into the Tubes. This defecation process can repeat itself over time until the contaminated news is picked up by the more scholarly sources, where it is then cleaned and properly processed for distribution as shown in Exhibit C.

OT: I really find it sad just how easily news can be distorted. If online news organizations actually took a moment to do theis homework instead of rushing an article through then things like this wouldn't happen.

Okay, this made me laugh.

Well done.

 

[Lullabye]

Why I'm staying outta MM. I'll cheer, sure. But in no way will I have make a physical difference in this event. This way, I cannot be blamed for the stupid that inevitably happens.(I've been blamed before)

 

[Anarchemitis]

Meanwhile Themis Media traffic spikes.

 

[CatWeazleZ]

I thought it was gonna be about the whole Zynga outrage or something.. I mean LOOK at the post count.

 

[John Funk]

Ok, I gotta be honest, I didn't read the article,(nothing personal, I'm sure it's very interesting) but this made me laugh anyway. Right now, the box entitled "Latest News" reads

"Chell May Get Makeover in Portal 2"
"Bioware Starts Mysterious Countdown"
"How Rumors Get Blown Out of Proportion on The Internet"
"Rumors of LittleBigPlanet 2 May Be True"
Gee, I wonder.

And, you'll notice, all of those are properly labeled and discussed as rumors. Not facts.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Well, damn it, this is quite annoying for both studios.
On a side note, since this have been a pretty large story, a ton of people will at least come here to vote for Naughty Dog and Epic Games. I don't like overexposure, but the fact that with this sort of exposure, the winners will be neither Turbine nor Zynga but a studios that actually deserves it makes me pretty happy. [/pointless rant]

 

[A Raging Emo]

Sites that don't properly source stories (For the mainstream, TMZ and National Enquirer) just drive journalistic integrity down for everyone. Sites that publish completely unconfirmed BS as legitimate news need to be 'curb-stomped' by more reasoned news sites, since it makes them look just as bad as they republish the fake story.

More than Curb-Stomped, full on Hammer of Dawn'd.

 

[Trifixion]

"The moment you're the developer of any popular game, anything you ever say in public can be used as a weapon against you."

Hmmph, this doesn't apply to just developers of popular games. Say anything anywhere in public these days that someone else disagrees with (which means literally anything...there is nothing you can say that someone out there will not disagree with. Seriously. You could say "humans breathe air" and someone will object, probably with a statement like "It's only those foolish atheist scientists who think we're breathing air! It is only by the mercy and grace of God that we continue to live! If you believe we breathe air, you must not know Jesus!") and it will be blown so far out of proportion it's not even funny.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Blah, blah, blah, blah NINTENDO'S CHIHUAHUA CONTROLLER!!!!

I am so Tweeting that.