368,379 people killed, 306,096 injured and over $2,815,931,000 in economic damages

What's the harm in internet misinformation?

There is a great variety of information on the internet. Quite a bit of it is complete nonsense. Relying on unchecked information can be very dangerous. Read more about internet misinformation

Here are 10,169 people who were harmed by someone not thinking critically.

Marcia Bergeron Age: 57 Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada	Died (poisoning) December 26, 2006
She distrusted conventional medicine, so she decided to self-medicate using pills purchased from a Canadian online pharmacy. What she didn't know was the pharmacy was not actually Canadian and the pills were tainted with toxic heavy metals. Read more

Jacqui Dean (MP) Age: 50 Otago, New Zealand	Public embarrassment August 23, 2007
She was fooled by an online hoax that demanded a ban of "dihidrogen monoxide". (This is another name for water). She sent a letter to the Health Ministry asking for an opinion on banning the substance. Read more

Timo Degen Age: 31 Munich, Germany	Died March 1997
After he learned of Breatharianism from a website, this kindergarten teacher decided to try it out. He was fasting for three weeks when he had to be hospitalized in a coma, and later died. Read more & more

Sue Gilliatt Indianapolis, Indiana	Nose destroyed
Sue (a nurse) had a benign tumor on her nose removed, but was fearful of future cancer. Based on information found on the net, she used a bloodroot product to self-treat. Within days her nose was destroyed. Read more & more

Verity Linn Age: 49 Loch Cam, Sutherland, Scotland	Died September 16, 1999
She learned of breatharianism via the internet, and decided to go into a complete fast while on a camping trip. Her body was found two weeks later. Read more & more

Richard McCaslin Age: 37 Bohemian Grove, Monte Rio, California	11 years in prison January 20, 2002
Horrified by (false) accusations about rituals at the Bohemian Grove he found on a conspiracy theory web site, he slunk into the private club expecting a gunfight. He was arrested and charged with felonies, for which he received a prison sentence. Read more & more

Roy Smith Age: 42	Years of useless treatments before he died July 13, 1998
Roy contracted ALS, and even though his doctor had screened him for mercury and found none, websites convinced him it was the cause. He had all his fillings removed and underwent years of chelation and oxygen therapy. Read more & more

Fredrick Töben Mannheim, Germany	7 months in prison April 8, 1999 - Nov. 11, 1999
He is a former schoolteacher who runs an Australian based website that denies the Holocaust. He was convicted of violating a German law regarding such claims and sentenced to prison. He was also prosecuted in Australia. Read more

54 hospital workers Kumamoto, Japan	Sickened by fumes May 21, 2008
Web sites which post instructions for mixing chemicals to commit suicide are common in Japan. A man who used this info vomited in the hospital and 23 patients and 31 staff were sickened by the fumes. Read more & more

Apple Computer shareholders Cupertino, California	3% drop in stock price October 3, 2008
When a "citizen journalist" posted a report on a CNN-affiliated website that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack, the value of the company's stock dropped as much as 11% but later recovered slightly. The SEC launched a probe into this. Read more

"John Doe" Age: 38 Davis, California	Argyria (irreversible skin condition) 2005
Colloidal silver remedy found on internet Read more

"John Doe" Age: 12 Harmånger, Sweden	Died January 4, 2008
This boy found the rules to a "choking game" on the internet. He tried it and died. Read more

"John Doe" Age: 55 Honolulu, Hawaii	Died 2000
He was diagnosed with sinus cancer, and found an alternative cure involving hydrazine sulfate on the internet. He bought it over the net and treated himself. He was hospitalized and died with (among other things) severe liver and kidney damage. Read more & more

residents of Gisborne, New Zealand Gisborne, New Zealand	Town disrupted January 16, 2008
After an American psychic predicted an earthquake for this town, residents clogged government and police phone lines with questions. Rumors spread further via internet web sites. Some fled the town. The quake never came. Read more

United Airlines shareholders Chicago, Illinois	Stock dropped 11.2% in one day September 8, 2008
A stock analyst misread a six year old online news story as if it were new, and released an advisory. This caused a flurry of trading in which the stock dropped from $12 to $3 in an hour. Trading was halted and the company had to issue a statement. Read more & more

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What's the harm in internet misinformation?

Marcia Bergeron

Jacqui Dean (MP)

Timo Degen

Sue Gilliatt

Verity Linn

Richard McCaslin

Roy Smith

Fredrick Töben

54 hospital workers

Apple Computer shareholders

"John Doe"

"John Doe"

"John Doe"

residents of Gisborne, New Zealand

United Airlines shareholders