The story that the White House Christmas tree will be called a holiday tree, not a Christmas tree, is just not true. It was a hoax when it first appeared two years ago, it was a hoax last year, it's a hoax now, and it will still be a hoax when it shows up again next year. It is no secret, except to the right-wing crazies, that the President and First Lady, both Christians, publicly celebrate Christmas. In his weekly address on December 24, they both mentioned Christmas several times (as well as God, and their Christian faith), and they each wished everyone a "Merry Christmas." They also have a nativity scene prominently displayed at the White House for Christmas. Yes, the President did issue a statement on Kwanzaa, just as George W. Bush did every year between 2001-2008. The wingnuts didn't seem to get upset when Bush did it, though. For once and for all, please accept the fact that President Obama is NOT anti-Christmas. Period. End of discussion!

Facebook is a hoaxster's dream come true because naïve Internet users seem to be particularly susceptible to hoaxes. Most of these hoaxes are common ones that got their start years ago on AOL Instant Messenger, then spread to other IM sites. Now, with the popularity of Facebook, they have found an even bigger audience. It's like those obnoxious inbox-clogging e-mail chain letters, only now they're on steroids.
 
Facebook users have become particularly easy targets due to the large number of new computer users unfamiliar with the old hoaxes. These hoaxes appear faster than bedbugs at a cheap motel and there is no way to keep up with them all, nor keep this list current (but we try). Just enjoy your Facebook experience, and don't spread these bogus "warnings" to others.
 
There are lots of hoaxes and scams being perpetrated on unsuspecting Facebook users. Hoax-Slayer provides current information about Facebook hoaxes. Anti-virus and anti-spyware developer Sophos provides information about Facebook scams, as does Facecrooks, the self-described Social Media Watchdog. They all provide news, educational resources and alerts on social media privacy, safety and, of course, hoaxes and scams. For more information, click on the Hoax-Slayer, Sophos or Facecrooks links below.

With the exception of one, these Facebook "virus warnings" are not really viruses at all. Number one on the list, photo tagging, is a legitimate Facebook feature. The others are a combination of rogue applications and survey scams. These apps will not crash, shut down or damage the user's computer in any way. What they do is lure unsuspecting folks to third-party survey sites, the scourge of Facebook. These scam sites encourage you to share the scam link with your friends. In reality, sharing the scam link just sends spam to your friends with the very same message. The danger with these scam survey sites is that can spread malware or obtain your personal information. If you have fallen prey to any of these scams, just remove any references to it from your newsfeed and profile.

According to stories published on September 26 on some local South African news websites, a newborn baby boy was found at a rubbish dump in the town of Bloemfontein. He was apparently found on the 24th. His umbilical cord was still attached to the placenta and he had bite marks on his skin from ants. The hospital said (on the 26th) that he was in a good condition and breathing on his own. Unfortunately, baby dumping and infanticide are all too common in that part of the world.
 
This may or may not be the story referred to on Facebook, however. The biggest problem with these postings is that they don't supply any information. The lack of things like who, what, where, why and when make them sound like hoaxes and urban legends. Sometimes photos are posted that have nothing to do with the actual story. Because there is no additional information, it's impossible to know if this happened yesterday, months or even years ago. In 2009, for example, a newborn baby was found covered in ants in a box along the side of a road in Florida. And in August a newborn was bitten to death by ants in her incubator in a hospital in India. This particular one says that a baby "found in the bin" was being eaten by ants. None of those stories indicate that a baby was found in a bin. The closest thing to a bin could be the box in Florida or the incubator in India. The baby in South Africa was wrapped in a blanket. In the end, there is really no way to know to which story, if any, the posting on Facebook refers.
 
Asking others to forward these types of posting is the equivelent of sending out e-mail chain letters. No matter the content, there is never a good reason to forward Facebook postings (or e-mail chain letters). Forwarding these things wastes time and bandwidth. There are more Internet-friendly ways to impart information to others than by "sharing" [often] misleading postings (and e-mails) to "everyone in your address book." Just delete these things and don't pass them on to others.

All charitable donation hoaxes are based on one underlying hoax that's been around since 1997: The "e-mail tracking" hoax. Companies do not make charitable contributions based upon strangers forwarding e-mails or posting messages on Facebook. Even if they wanted to, there is no way that they could track how many people receive an e-mail or view a posting. There is no such thing as e-mail tracking! Therefore, ANY e-mail or FB posting that offers something in return for merely posting a message or forwarding an e-mail is, in fact, a hoax.

Messages warning of people like this beg the question of how the creator of the message actually found out about it in the first place. Does asking folks to pass this warning on to others mean that the originator did not bother to notify Facebook administrators? Any report of pedophiles would be investigated and their accounts would be deactivated. Does it mean that they didn't notify the police? The police would always investigate since the allegation is extremely serious.
 
The spread of these "warnings" infers that this was reported to Facebook and the police, both of whom decided not to pursue the complaint and left the profile free to continue to recruit children. It stretches credibility to believe that someone would not report this type of activity to the authorities rather than spread unsubstantiated rumors.
 
Warnings like these, even though they do describe apocryphal events, sometimes offer valid precautions. Parents and children alike should be aware that Facebook can provide real threats to their safety. Practicing simple procedures such as always being alert, never adding unknown "friends" to one's Facebook profile, and never meeting strangers from the Internet should be enough to make Facebook use a little safer.

These cans were produced in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), by the Dubai Refreshments Company to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the UAE. The company came out with four million special edition Pepsi cans with seven different designs depicting various landmarks around the country symbolizing each of the seven Emirates. Among the seven designs included is Abu Dhabi's famous seafront. As one can plainly see, the design on the can in question is actually the skyline of Abu Dhabi as seen along the shoreline (corniche). The design looks nothing like the New York City skyline and most certainly does not contain an image of the Twin Towers. It only looks that way to those that see conspiracy in everything.
 
Because of the uproar over these cans, Pepsi is changing the design. They issued a statement saying that "The new can, which features an abstract design, is already in the Middle East market. All old designs will be replaced over the next few weeks."