The Internet Puts Gossip on Steroids

Gossip (malicious chatter or rumours about other people) has always been a problem but today it may lead to suicide, murder, or the overthrow of governments because the internet and email provide an easy way to amplify and multiply its effect.
I venture to say that most if not all of you have received emails which claim to be true and seem to reinforce what you always thought might be true about a person or situation and your immediate thought is: "This needs to be read by all my contacts!" and you immediately forward it to everyone in your contacts list. You have fallen into a trap by believing something you read that reinforces what you always thought might be true.
Whatever you read on the internet or in emails from your closest and most trusted friends could have been written by a drooling idiot in an insane asylum or a convicted felon in prison or an unscrupulous politician lying about his opponents. Never assume that the emails you receive from a certain person are guaranteed to be sent by that person. It's not difficult to make an email look like it's from anyone at all.
I always test the validity of emails I receive and other things I read on the internet by going to snopes.com and searching for key words. I have been using Snopes for years and I trust them because they offer references to support their opinions so you can go check them out if you want.