Urban legend
Urban legends are tales of unlikely events or gruesome happenings which befall 'a friend of a friend', and which hover just beyond the bounds of verifiability. A large number of such legends are comprehensively debunked by the Snopes Report.[1]
Urban legends can be seriously damaging to individuals and corporations. During the 1980s, Proctor & Gamble suffered poor publicity, due to an unfounded rumor that they were owned by the Church of Satan. Another popular urban legend is Coca-Cola being owned by the LDS Church.
Political figures are often targeted. A list of 'moron' quotes from Mad Magazine are now being forwarded via e-mail as actual George W. Bush quotes. Photos of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton looking through binoculars with the lens-cap still on[2] is also widely distributed, though the picture was clearly doctored.
Another long-lasting urban legend involved a supposed attempt by Madalyn Murray O'Hair to outlaw all religious radio and television stations: the legend continued to persist years after her murder.
