Is Michael Jackson alive - viral media would have you think so

This week German broadcaster RTL conducted an interesting experiment about the power of social media and celebrity. The broadcaster posted an anonymous fake video on YouTube which showed Michael Jackson appearing to emerge from the back of a coroner's van in an underground car park. The video - only posted for one day - received 880,000 hits and has quickly become an online viral phenomena. The SMH today printed a story by the Associated Press that says hoaxes and rumours commonly spread like wildfire on the internet and the rise of Twitter - dubbed by some academics as social media in real time - has quickened the pace. This example, along with that of Chaser the squirrel from Banff, Canada, illustrates just how quickly information, false or truthful, can spread when coupled with celebrity.