Flying fibs show fiction can be faster than fact

By ALAN PERROTT

Hoaxes, rumours and titbits of misinformation arising from the terrorist attack on America continue to fly around the globe.

Several news stories that have been picked up by news organisations around the world have been proved wrong only hours later.

News providers everywhere, including the Independent, the New York Times, ABC, CNN and the New Zealand Herald, were caught out yesterday by another tall tale.

The story went that Clear Channel, the world's largest radio network, had issued a list of 150 songs to be banned because of questionable lyrics.

The list contained a dizzying grab-bag of styles ranging from Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water to everything by Rage Against the Machine.

Though precedents exist - Split Enz' single Six Months in a Leaky Boat was barred from radio in Britain during the Falklands War - no such ban was imposed.

The Clear Channel list grew out of e-mail discussions between individual programmers concerned that some songs may offend some listeners. This encouraged one programmer to put together his own list of titles worthy of further thought.

But this is just one of many false tales transmitted around the world by the blizzard of the internet, press agencies and the power of gossip.

* ABC television news presenter Peter Jennings has been accused of telling President Bush he should "stop hiding behind the Secret Service and face the nation and explain the President's failure to protect the country". What happened was that after one of President Bush's statements, Jennings said: "Well, some Presidents are just better at it than others."

* An e-mail message asked all Americans to light candles and stand outside last Friday night for a satellite picture being taken by Nasa. A candle vigil was held, but Nasa has denied any involvement.

* A man caught in the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers allegedly rode bits of collapsing masonry and surfed the swirling air currents down to safety. A good story ... but it seems to be speculation that quickly spread around the world.

* A chain e-mail claims recipients can help search for Osama bin Laden by donating money to Estonian hackers. As with bogus e-mails soliciting for disaster relief donations, this claim is untrue.

* Hip-hop group The Coup are supposed to be releasing an album using a picture of the exploding World Trade Center on the cover. A preliminary cover using a mockup of the towers exploding was shot some time ago, but the artwork has already been pulled for redesign.

* Pictures taken by freelance photographer Mark Phillips show a demonic face leering out of the smoke from one of the burning towers. CNN, Associated Press and the photographer all claim the pictures were not doctored.

* Microsoft has been accused of anti-Jewish conspiracy or direct involvement in the attack because of weird coincidences using its "webding" and "wingding" fonts. Typing "q33ny", supposedly the flight number of one of the crashed planes, produces images of an aircraft, two buildings, a skull and a star of David.

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