When a Cruel Hoax Doesn't Catch Fire

Trying to uncover the source of a hoax can be mighty challenging, and we here at PAST DEADLINE are frankly too busy to really devote too much time and energy to playing detective. But when a fraud is particularly sick and mean-spirited, it's worth making an issue over to underscore the need for vigilence and a healthy skepticism.

For instance, somebody in cyberspace tried to spring a prank using CNN.com as the purported hatch point on Monday. They got blog distribution and speculation on a supposed "screen grab" from the news network's Website that -- under the "BREAKING NEWS" flag -- broke a story headlined, "Actress Dakota Fanning Mysteriously Dies." Below was a paragraph teasing this larger "developing story" and a link to a "Special Report" on Fanning's film career.

It all looked very legitimate down to the "UPDATED: 1:17 a.m. EDT, April 10, 2006." The fact that this never actually appeared even for a second on CNN.com is confirmed by a CNN Worldwide spokeswoman who supplied the actual screen that was then up on the site (at 1:10 a.m., the screen update closest to 1:17 a.m.; it wasn't updated again until 1:30 a.m.). The lead story during that early hour on CNN.com was immigration. The Fanning page was assuredly a complete fabrication.

No big deal? No harm done? Well, yes and no. If you see this ruminated about on a blog and take it with a grain of salt, it has no impact in your life. But let's say you're a huge Fanning fan -- or, God forbid, a family member -- and you happen across something like this at an odd hour. Then it could well cause hours of grief until being refuted. With PhotoShop technology, virtually anyone with even a passing knowledge of altering software can do this. But the hoaxsters of the world may want to think twice before using spurious news of a 12-year-old girl's death for their own little fun and games.