Weapons & Tactics Falls for Old Hoaxes

An e-friend subscribes to the Weapons & Tactics newsletter. He was very concerned about the two main features in their latest issue:



Gas pump needles and spunk ball. These stories are BS--old internet chain letter hoaxes that have been out there for years. See:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/gaspump.asp
and
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/spunkbal.asp

Both stories just smelled wrong. And it literally took me less than one minute to debunk them. Yet W&T has an editor-in-chief, an assistant editor, a copy editor and contributing editors.

I did some looking around on the Internet and came up with this:

http://combatcarry.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3439

Among the comments:

Yes I have heard of the publication and until today I was ready to share it with just about anyone that wanted the straight skinny on what ever subject the publication was discussing. Then came Volume 10 Number 2 Feb. 2006, which had a article about “Watch out for needles when pumping gas.” Well for some reason I decided to check this out for myself and found that this is apparently a hoax that has been around the internet since 2000. I found out that on June 20th, 2000 the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department issued a press release declaring it a hoax and stating that the author, Capt. Abraham Sands was not at the Department.

I have written the publisher and directed that my name be taken off their mailing list immediately and that no further publications were desired, even if I had remaining months on my subscription.

I am both a Texas Certified CHL Instructor & NRA Instructor so I can’t afford to be relying on sharing publications that print this type of garbage with my current & former students.

In their defense, W&T probably got these stories from people they trusted. Still, that's no excuse for this. They're not only charging their readers for wrong information, they're charging them for free information. I'm sorry, but this just smacks of taking their readers for granted.

It may turn out this is a one-time goof, and that their newsletter is a valuable and authoritative publication. If you're a subscriber or a potential one, you'll need to decide for yourself whether or not this is a showstopper for you.

My friend tells me he called them and they are aware they goofed. If that was my newsletter, I'd be issuing a profound public apology, offering refunds for that issue, and telling my customers what safeguards I've established to keep such an abuse of their trust from ever happening again.

I've emailed the editor twice in the past two days before posting this and haven't received a reply. Note that what I've posted has been extensively edited from my initial reaction, which included a lot of scathing criticism. I decided that wouldn't be productive.

This is a real object lesson for those of us who have fallen for chain letter hoaxes in the past, and forwarded them to our friends. Passing on bogus material calls our credibility into question. We have a tough enough time reaching outside the choir without giving our opponents a convenient way to dismiss us outright.

Here's a good rule of thumb to apply before forwarding an incredible story: Is a link to a credible source included? If not, until you can find something that verifies authenticity, take a pass on passing it on--having enough junk mail to wade through isn't really a problem, is it?

If Weapons & Tactics wishes to respond, I'll post it.