February 11, 2009

Fake Amber Alert Spreads Far and Wide (and Fast) via SMS, Twitter

An unofficial Amber Alert that apparently originated in Salt Lake City on Sunday night crisscrossed the country at lightning speed over the following two days, convincing well-meaning text messagers and Twitter users from Maryland to California that a 7-year-old girl in their state had been abducted by a man driving a silver truck with the license plate number 72B381.

By the time Utah authorities disavowed the bogus message on Monday, it had already spread all over America.

[via Urban Legends]