When the Media Don't Fact Check

But I'd like to think that the mainstream media would be able to do half a second of fact checking and find these hoaxes. Unfortunately, the media seems to be just as gullible as your less-than-intelligent uncle. This story about the supposed health benefits of breast watching was picked up by a number of newspapers around the world and reported as news.

My favorite example of this practice of poor fact checking came on the G. Gordon Liddy show when the G-Man tried to push his strong pro-gun stance by touting the story about the gun-toting grandma in Australia as the perfect example on why everyone should own a gun for protection. Too bad that after he wasted all that breath, it turned out to be a hoax. I e-mailed him letting him know that he might want to find some actual factual antecdotes to support his stance, but never heard back from him or anyone on his staff.

I don't think it's too much to ask that journalists do at least a quick check on one of the many hoax sites on the Internet when they get a story as obviously fake as "10 minutes of staring at a woman's breasts is equivalent to a 30-minute aerobic workout," we'd all be a lot better off. The web already gives Uncle George a worldwide audience for his "I swear this is true!" -- let's try to keep radio and TV somewhat immune from these blatent hoaxes. -ram