Forwarded emails from old people

[Lord Ash]

So, I have somehow made it into my father in laws address book, and he has started including me in these CONSTANT forwarded email chains that go back and forth between him and his retired friends.

And it is just so awkward, because every single one of them is just fake.

He recently sent one about China poisoning our food. It was so obviously fake... no author, LOTS OF CAPS, lots of encouragements to READ UNTIL THE END... and a list of forwards as long as my arm. Sure enough, after about two seconds of google-fu, it was clear this was a (largely) hoax email that had been making the rounds for years.

Got another one recently about the current impeachment news, supposedly written by some PhD with a suspiciously Jewish name, and you didn't even have to read it 'till the end to know it was fake... not only did it contain a bunch of factual errors, it was also so clearly not an analysis of the possible ramifications of impeachment but just a partisan rant... it make sure to hit on Chicago, George Soros, the DNC, Donna Brazille, Eric Holder, and every other possible conservative boogeyman. Sure enough yes, it is a viral forwarded email that has no basis in fact.

I responded to both, in length and in detail, complete with links, but I'm not sure it had any impact... one person responded "Well, even if it ISN'T true, it's still important!" and another insisted that China being our enemy is written in the Bible somewhere.

After the last one, I suspect my father in law won't include me anymore, as he accused me of taking all of the fun out of the internet. I reminded him that there are still PLENTY of cute cat videos out there.

So how about all of you? Have you been sucked into the world of fake forwarded emails?

[BLPOG]

I'm young enough that I have very rarely had to deal with these sorts of emails first-hand.

I think older folks just haven't been trained in the right data set to recognize these things, so they are more prone to indulging them than the average person. Reasoning with them on the level of individual errors probably won't produce results because their entire paradigm is wrong.

You might consider sending an article on how scammers work; e.g. they intentionally introduce spelling errors to text to filter out those people less likely to be duped. A lot of the characteristics are shared with these sorts of emails.

[Matches]

Yup; been there, done that. Not just emails either. My Facebook feed is lit up with fake nonsense. "You must post this message to your status or Facebook will sue you." Old people tend to be the worst about falling for it, though it's not limited to them.

I tend to just ignore it as best I can - it just sucks that so much disinformation is floating around.

[dudog84]

My responses typically get me cut out of these circles.

It would be an interesting poll to see what people identified as. One word. Christian, Democrat, father, husband, environmentalist, animal-lover, etc. Mine would be Scientist. I demand facts in all areas of my life. Yeah, I'm a fun guy.

[dudog84]

I think older folks just haven't been trained in the right data set to recognize these things, so they are more prone to indulging them than the average person.

No, I think they just have too much time on their hands. Remember as a kid, your parents telling you "If you don't have anything to do, I'll find something for you to do"? We need to turn the tables and say that to our parents. (good luck)

[budwom]

on a slightly different tack, what do you folks consider "old?" I'm curious...

[brevity]

It would be an interesting poll to see what people identified as. One word. Christian, Democrat, father, husband, environmentalist, animal-lover, etc. Mine would be Scientist. I demand facts in all areas of my life. Yeah, I'm a fun guy.

So... mycologist?

[devildeac]

So... mycologist?

I can predict with a relatively high degree of confidence that this discourse will mushroom...

[curtis325]

So... mycologist?

You've started it. The puns will now mushroom on this thread.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Just check the sporeboard.

[OldPhiKap]

I can predict with a relatively high degree of confidence that this discourse will mushroom...

You should get loads of spore-ks for that.

[devildeac]

You've started it. The puns will now mushroom on this thread.

Please try again later. You're 2 minutes late. Gotta type faster...

[devildeac]

on a slightly different tack, what do you folks consider "old?" I'm curious...

Any person 3+ years older than me so you qualify...

[devildeac]

Just check the sporeboard.

You should get loads of spore-ks for that.

Great minds! Identical strangers?

[rasputin]

You should get loads of spore-ks for that.

This is fun, Gus!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I mean no disrespect to your father-in-law. But as George Carlin famously said, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

[devildeac]

This is fun, Gus!

That's me! Kept in the dark and fed lots of manure...

(mostly because I don't know So Happens It's Tuesday; of course it's a beer reference-what'd ya expect?)

[devildeac]

I mean no disrespect to your father-in-law. But as George Carlin famously said, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

As most DBR threads tend to evolve, "u"nc almost always appears in the discussion...

[Indoor66]

on a slightly different tack, what do you folks consider "old?" I'm curious...

Its got to be older than I am.😂

[OldPhiKap]

I used to joke that old people knew what band Paul McCartney was in before "Wings."

Now, you're old if you know who Paul McCartney is.