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Re: FALSE INFORMATION

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On 5/18/2024 8:11 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> J.D. Baldwin <news@baldwin.users.panix.com> wrote:
>> Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>
>>> I have objected many many times on Usenet to citing Wikipedia for
>>> death notices. It is NOT a source for anything. Looking at the page,
>>> the source was not cited and he's no longer listed as dead.
>
>> And now, the alternative view:
>
>> As long as you cite the source honestly, go ahead and post whatever
>> information you feel like posting.
>
> Are you listening to me? WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A SOURCE but fourth-hand
> information at best. Information added to a Wikipedia page is required
> to cite reliable third-hand information. That didn't happen here which is
> why it was very quickly taken down.
>
> An obituary posted in which the writer got the information from a close
> relative is acceptable and what we would expect in the case of a celebrity.
> Something posted by a close relative or publicist on what appears to
> be an official social media account is probably not a hoax, but we've
> certainly seen social media accounts created just to spread malicious
> gossip and hoaxes.
>
>> If someone edited Wikipedia to indicate that Coleman had died -- and
>> it's obvious now that it wasn't a "hoax" -- then just say that and let
>> the reader weigh the credibility.
>
> Oh, by all means cite "someone", that mysterious "someone" who edited a
> page but DID NOT provide a source.
>
> In this case, the "information" was on the Wikipedia page for just a few
> minutes, then taken down and Dabney Coleman's status reverted to
> "alive". I found a Web page with no citations on a site that
> automatically generates "news". Extra had supposedly reported the death
> but 404'ed their own Web page.
>
> Crap like that is a huge red flag that the death notice was a hoax.
>
>> I once posted a death notice that I heard from a friend
>> who was loosely connected to the family of the celebrity, and a.o.
>> scooped the world because of it.  Not that that's particularly
>> important in the scheme of things, but it's less unimportant than a
>> lot of things that get posted in a lot of forums.
>
> It's a death notice. It's absolutely pretty damn not unimportant that it
> comes from a close family relative and not rumour.
>
>> Sometimes the lack of corroboration just means you got there first.
>
> There have been hundreds of celebrity death hoaxes over the years.
> Usenet has no business participating. We have no need to be first. We
> absolutely have a need to be accurate.
>
Some may remember back in 2022 when Gilbert Gottfried's death was 
announced.  I immediately hopped on Wikipedia to his listing to check 
and managed to get a screen cap there of the report of his death, citing 
a particular perverse cause of death (which I still strongly expect he 
arranged to happen at least five minutes before the press release of the 
news), just minutes before that particular claim was removed.  (Which I 
posted on the AO facebook page)  So there are times (or at least once) 
when Wikipedia was first with the valid news.

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Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92 bryan_styble <radioactiveseattle@hotmail.com> - 2024-05-17 15:17 +0000
  Re: Dabney Coleman? Travoltron <Travoltron@fakeemail.com> - 2024-05-17 10:31 -0700
    Re: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92 Travoltron <Travoltron@fakeemail.com> - 2024-05-17 17:01 -0700
      Re: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92 bryan_styble <radioactiveseattle@hotmail.com> - 2024-05-18 01:35 +0000
  FALSE INFORMATION (was: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92) "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-17 17:54 +0000
    Re: FALSE INFORMATION bryan_styble <radioactiveseattle@hotmail.com> - 2024-05-17 20:32 +0000
      Re: FALSE INFORMATION "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-17 20:44 +0000
        Re: Confirmed - Dabney Coleman dead at 92 countymayo@yahoo.com (Diner99) - 2024-05-17 22:13 +0000
        Confirmed - Dabney Coleman dead at 92 countymayo@yahoo.com (Diner99) - 2024-05-17 22:11 +0000
    Re: FALSE INFORMATION (was: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92) INVALID_SEE_SIG@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin) - 2024-05-18 11:49 +0000
      Re: FALSE INFORMATION (was: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92) "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-18 13:11 +0000
        Re: FALSE INFORMATION Aje RavenStar <whinebucket@comcast.net> - 2024-05-18 08:54 -0500
          Re: FALSE INFORMATION "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-18 14:49 +0000
            Re: FALSE INFORMATION Aje RavenStar <whinebucket@comcast.net> - 2024-05-18 09:24 -0500
            Re: FALSE INFORMATION Aje RavenStar <whinebucket@comcast.net> - 2024-05-18 09:29 -0500
            Re: FALSE INFORMATION David Carson <davidc@wa-wd.com> - 2024-05-18 14:35 -0500
              Re: FALSE INFORMATION "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-18 21:16 +0000
            Re: FALSE INFORMATION Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> - 2024-05-19 01:29 +0000
              Re: FALSE INFORMATION "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-19 02:28 +0000
                Re: FALSE INFORMATION Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> - 2024-05-19 03:40 +0000
        Re: FALSE INFORMATION (was: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92) INVALID_SEE_SIG@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin) - 2024-05-19 13:20 +0000
          Re: FALSE INFORMATION (was: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92) "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-19 13:55 +0000
      Re: FALSE INFORMATION Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> - 2024-05-19 01:27 +0000
  Re: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92 "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2024-05-17 22:20 +0000
    Re: Dabney Coleman, versatile character actor, 92 mig73allenford2002@yahoo.co.uk (Mig.Rhodes) - 2024-05-20 08:46 +0000

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