JEDDAH, 5 December 2002 — With tensions between the Middle East and the West at an all-time high, rumor mongering is in vogue. The most popular arena for spreading false propaganda is the Internet. After the events of Sept. 11, the Internet exploded with websites and chain e-mails that have been feeding the masses with paranoia and conspiracy theories. And there is still no end in sight to their proliferation.
The latest victim to fall prey to a false chain mail campaign is the Coca-Cola Company. An e-mail making the rounds all over the world claims that the NBC television network has reported that Coca-Cola will be donating four days’ worth of profits to Israel, which will help massacre the Palestinian people.
Arab News contacted NBC’s Vice President of News Media Relations Alex Constantinople who clearly stated: “NBC has never broadcast such a report.”
A representative of Coca-Cola confirmed that “our company has not made any donations to Israel.”
Saeed Al-Qasim, 26, a computer programmer in the Kingdom who recently received the same bogus information via both e-mail and text-message, was shocked when told the truth.
“Who would do such a thing? It is wrong to play on people’s emotions, no matter what the reasons are.”
This is not the first time Coca-Cola has been victimized by such hoaxes.
In May 2000, an e-mail claiming that the century-old “Coca-Cola” logo actually spelled blasphemous words in Arabic about Islam swept through the Middle East.
The rumor caused such uproar in Egypt that a panel of Muslim scholars was set up to study the claim. It reported that it was a hoax.
Unfortunately, there is no way to police the content available on the Internet, and American Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cannot be held liable according to an American court ruling. But that is not the case in the United Kingdom, where courts ruled differently and ISPs have to remove such material once it is brought to their attention.
Currently in Saudi Arabia no such law has been passed regarding this issue.
Ultimately, these hoaxes are about emotional persuasion and the recipient should ask if their emotional buttons are being pushed. Next time you receive an e-mail or text message that asks you to forward it to “everyone you know”, do yourself a favor — and press delete instead.
