<p>Bottom line: those goofy e-mails you get forwarded to you (not the ones about the cute cat tricks - the other ones) are overwhelmingly forwarded by folks who are old and have a conservative view of the world. I was wondering if it was just my circle of friends, relatives and acquaintances which made it seem that way, but my experience is apparently typical.</p>
<p>While a tactful reference to Snopes.com is my usual response (other than to hit “delete”) I now find that Snopes is also a liberal plot. :D</p>
<p>I guess I better just get used to the fact that my future will feature black helicopters. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thanks for this. H has an elderly relative who, despite repeated pleas not to send more “Obama is a secret Muslim Communist Socialist Kenyan without a birth certificate and Obamacare will kill us all” emails, refuses to stop. I’m going to suggest he send her The Atlantic article as a reply, since Snopes rebuttals don’t seem to do the trick. Perhaps bluntly pointing out that she is old will work?</p>
<p>Some of us have loony liberal relatives who have a very interesting worldview, as well. It’s the crazy that’s the issue, kluge not the political affiliation.</p>
<p>Is it possible that the liberal loonies who are on average a bit younger (and by definition more tech savvy) than the older, conservative loonies as kluge’s uncle moved from e-mail to other, more up to date methods of spreading their craziness, like Twitter, etc.?</p>
<p>Oh this struck a cord with me. I receive many of these from an in-law - usually in a barrage of multiple at a time, generally extremely offensive and often quite racist. Just awful.</p>
<p>In my particular family the lefty loonies are ancient hippies with fried brains. Which is not to say that they represent all lefties, loonies, hippies or oldies. They are just uniquely themselves!</p>
<p>I find it truly depressing that these “demonstrably false” emails continue to circulate. I too have a friend who sends these. Nearly every one is already debunked by Snopes. Sheesh - I find them literally unbelievable, and think far less of anyone who would unquestioningly send them on.</p>
<p>This also jives with my recent experience with an ultra conservative couple I know, who said absolutely nothing about politics while their guys were in the White House, but now ruin our get-togethers with obnoxious comments. It will be interesting to see if these “demonstrably false” emails (and obnoxious comments) quiet down when their guy is back in charge.</p>
<p>I have a conservative cousin who would not stop sending me the latest, racist, Obama-based conspiracy theory emails. I asked nicely several times. Then I asked less politely. Finally we had it out and now he won’t speak to me because I’m a “brainwashed liberal.” </p>
<p>Oy!</p>
<p>I will say that it gives me hope that most of the senders are older and conservative. To put it indelicately, it’s only a matter of time before a large population that actually believes this b.s. goes onto their great reward.</p>
<p>Outlook → Create email rule → direct emails from sender to “Political Junk” (or similarly named folder). Right click on the folder once a in a while and clear contents.</p>
<p>I have politely asked a few friends who send out the awful chain letters, jokes, the “oh this is so cute you have to see it” stuff to take me off their distribution list for those things. I get literally hundreds of emails a day and I simply do not have time for, nor do I care to read those things. Sometimes they stop upon request, sometimes they dont. My DH has a young cousin sho routinely posts very inappropriate (IMO0 extremist political thing on facebook. I havent unfriended him yet, but have put all those on “hide” so I do not see them. I have managed to stay pretty clear of the radical political rants or conspiracy emails. So far…</p>
<p>Mine is my youngest uncle. He is the editor-in-chief of a rather large conservative journal (for lack of a better word) online that regularly publishes “Obama is a commie” type conspiracy stories. He is also a regular “contributor” on Fox News. He emails me articles all the time and we read them at my internship (I intern for a Democratic state senator) to much amusement. </p>
<p>I would block him, but my younger cousins also send me emails from his email and I don’t want to miss them.</p>
<p>Dh and I went through a garbage bag filled with mail for our elderly aunt who is confused and thought all the mail was bills. Almost all of it was hysterically titled envelopes from the far right. If they included a self stamped envelope, it was mailed back to them asking them to remove her name. What a bunch of garbage! It was so misleading and made me sad and angry that my aunt was so worried about it.</p>
<p>And yes, I know about the Do Not Mail list… it hasn’t helped.</p>
<p>I’m prepared to believe that people on all points of the ideological spectrum can be equally nutty, but it does also appear to me that the specific phenomenon of forwarded e-mails with political rumors tends to be far-right. I suspect it has something to do with who uses what technology.</p>
<p>I’m in a nice e-mail group but one lady sends endless jokes, etc. What I really hate are the e-mails that predict disaster if you don’t forward them to seven people or else guarantee something wonderful will happen if you do. I hated those “break the chain and your life will be ruined” chain letters as a kid.</p>