Notable excerpt:
“The Sankei Shimbun asked Associate Professor Shinichi Yamaguchi of the International University of Japan about the phenomenon. Yamagucni, an expert in online libel, says that ‘the human desire to feel a sense of superiority’ is intimately linked to the spread of misinformation. Getting involved with and spreading baseless information makes people feel as if they know some hidden truth other people are unaware of, he argues.”
“...an expert in online libel, says that ‘the human desire to feel a sense of superiority’ is intimately linked to the spread of misinformation.”
Huh. Explains the rabid left, vegans, flat earth types, people babbling about chemtrails, cell towers, Sasquatch, lizard people, the Illuminati, and a host of other late night AM radio topics.
Re: 4 - Sounds like a few FReepers that post stories from web sites that have had multiple claims debunked.