Why do people feel the need to create myths on the internet?

[Semi]

You always see the same old picture on the net, with all these different stories about it. You hear the same old stories too, except locations and details change.

Like today, i got a forward from my mum, with that picture of a guy who faceplanted into a truck and was stuck in the back. Except this one was titled 'value of a good helmet', and apparently the guy who hit with enough force to go through sheet metal survived. WTF?

I've never understood what posesses someone to make this shit up. I can understand the guys you know (we all know one) who incessantly make up BS stories to sound impressive, but whoever perpetuates these myths are largely anonymous and don't promote themselves. What's the point?

[Maxo]

because its fun to lie to stupid people?

or people feel like their lie will help people realise or push something that they feel is important... like that one about japanese people eating babies...

[The Saint]

Why bother fucking if you've had a vasectomy?

Lying is a product of evolution. It's part of our genetic make-up.

[Captain Starfish]

Saint: did you read that on the internet?

it may be a lieeee

Semi - I reckon that "lies on the internet" start off as misinterpretations of half heard facts with the gaps filled in creatively. As you well know, spouting shit loudly and vehemently enough means that someone will eventually believe you. They then pass it on, and voila!

[George3000ltd edition]

I reckon it boils down to the individual, they have nothing else to do, no real purpose in life, so they just spread shit around the internet like Nutella on toast.. Thick and plentiful

[Commander Keen]

.

[Spuddy]

^ whenever I see that picture, I think of Browncow.

[Deborah]

CK's drawing also explains road-rage.

[browncow]

^ whenever I see that picture, I think of Browncow.

Yo...

This is my favourite BS intertube story:
snopes.com: Air France Crash Photos

The hoax back story for these pictures was propagated in late October 2006 on the blog of a Brazilian man named Carlos Cardoso. Mr. Cardoso admitted to the hoax on his blog, claiming he was attempting to demonstrate that people only skim the first paragraph or so of articles and don't really absorb or think critically about what they're reading (a point demonstrated by the fact that the original blog entry included a link at the end to another entry explaining the hoax). None of the many readers who forwarded us these pictures saw them on the blog site, however; they all received the photos via e-mail forwards.