CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - What has the ability to travel faster than the speed of light? A rumor sent via text or posted on the internet. It's summer time and young adults and kids have more time on their hands which usually leads to more time online. We want to talk to you tonight about how quickly rumors can travel in the digital world so you can be aware and protect your kids.
Recently, a news network had it's Twitter feed hacked the hackers tried to spread a rumor that the President was dead on the 4th of July.
WBTV's Cyber Expert, Theresa Payton 3 tips to help you avoid your kid being part of the rumor chain
TIPS:
- Be an example: don't repeat or spread rumors
- Talk to your kids about how to be savvy about rumors so they don't fall for one by teaching them about rumor busting sites like Snopes or Urban Legend
- Golden Rule: if the rumor is about someone they know, do not pass it along and encourage others to do the same
If you want to know if a rumor is true or not, check out sites such as:
www.snopes.com
www.truthorfiction.com
www.urbanlegend.com
For kids and teens, have them visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/help/web/staysafe for tips on staying safe online, including how to avoid spreading rumors.
You can actually look up the timeline of a rumor by typing into Google: "Timeline of a rumor on the internet" and it will show you rumors, by year, and the timeline and iteration for each rumor.
WORD OF THE WEEK:
LULZ: LULZ is geek speak for laugh out loud but unlike LOL is more targeted towards a prank. You may have heard of LULZSEC who claimed responsibility for hacking several websites recently.
Copyright 2011 WBTV. All rights reserved.
