there's a post in snopes about them being taken as gospel... i forgot which one it was and I've never been able to find it again, I recall it being about the prose Four and Twenty Blackbirds or something like that about recruiting pirates.
It went on to describe the accuracy of the prose then debunked itself stating that it had not facts just supposition and to take things with a grain of salt anyways.
anyone else ever see that?
edit: found it!
http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm
Quote:
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This section graphically demonstrates the pitfalls of falling into the lazy habit of taking as gospel any one information outlet's unsupported word. We could have put up a page saying "Don't believe everything you read, no matter how trustworthy the source," but that wouldn't have conveyed the message half as well as showing through direct example just how easy it is to fall into the "I got it from so-and-so, therefore it must be true" mindset. That's the same mindset that powers urban legends, the same basic mistake that impels countless well-meaning folks to confidently assert "True story; my aunt (husband, best friend, co-worker, boss, teacher, minister) told me so."
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