It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without the internet. The world-wide communications system that has only been widely available to the public for about 20 years is a huge part of the daily routine for millions of people. We now live in the age of “internet addiction” where we hear news stories about people who become so engrossed in an online game or chat room that they ignore almost everything else in their life. The internet is also very fertile ground for those who like to make up outrageous stories and unleash them on an unsuspecting public as truth. The internet allows phony news stories to travel the globe with incredible speed, making it hard to separate truth from fiction at times. Here are some well-traveled news stories that are either misleading or just plain fake.

1. Kentucky Derby

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Events that attract a lot of attention from the media and the public are often juicy targets for those that like to get attention by making things up. Two crazy stories began circulating about this year’s Kentucky Derby including one that claimed that bad girl Miley Cyrus was thrown out of the event after an argument with porn star Ron Jeremy. The second one was even less believable, and claimed that an accident at the track led to the death of a jockey who was injected with veterinary medication that was meant to be used on horses. The stories originated with a website that is well-known for posting fake news.