Now that’s what I call viral… [2]

I got an email from a perfectly sane, level-headed and intelligent friend today announcing that “the world famous Red Arrows have been banned appearing at the 2012 London Olympics because they are deemed ‘too British’ ” and asking me to sign an online petition.

Frothing at the mouth, I clicked the link and found myself looking at a petition signed by hundreds of thousands of people demanding the government let the Red Arrows fly.

Then above the petition I noticed this: “The allegation is not true. The government has not banned the Red Arrows…”.

A couple of seconds in Google revealed the whole thing to be a hoax. But the petition is still active and people are still signing it.

There are a couple of things that stand out from this. One is how astonishingly uncritical we can be of information that fits with the kind of things we expect to hear. Another is how the emotional response can take on a life of its own beyond the unmasking of the lie.