News alert: Some things you read on the Internet are not true. As obvious as that may seem, and as savvy as you'd think we'd be a decade after deposed Nigerian princes began e-mailing us with the promise of vast riches, 2013 has turned out to be the Year of the Online Hoax. And, guess what? Most of us seemed to love every minute of it. In just the past week or so, the Web has been duped by the viral rise of a snarky Thanksgiving Day airplane spat, a not-so-poor poverty blogger and a Twitter feud between a comedian and a salsa company.
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Viral hoaxes hit the Internet big in 2013
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Media analyst: Spreading viral stories fast is big business
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The fake "Elan vs. Diane" airplane spat captivated thousands on Thanksgiving
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Analyst: "Sometimes, with these stories, we all want them to be true"
But all mourned this year on @placeholder where bad information, whether planted intentionally or accidentally, can spread fast.