Morgan Freeman is not dead, despite the announcement that appeared on the internet on August 27.  The Facebook page titled “RIP Morgan Freeman” is still posted on internet and is still receiving comments from people who are learning for the first time about Freeman’s alleged demise. (I checked the site yesterday.)

Situations like this are a nightmare for people like me who strive to present accurate and useful information on the internet. It’s bewildering for people who rely on (or merely hope that they can rely on) that information.

Virtually everyone who has responded to this horrible incident have labelled it a cruel hoax. There is another possible explanation — it may have been an honest mistake that got that got totally out-of-control. Perhaps a Morgan Freeman fan believed (for some reason) that Morgan Freeman was dead. Instead of confirming this rumor, he or she ran to the computer and expressed frustration or anger. Suddenly, this preposterous story had a life of its own. The real problem: someone passed on information that he or she had not confirmed.

This happens in the gluten free world. People refuse to eat buckwheat because they are unaware that it is not a type of wheat. People refuse to use any type of vinegar because they are unaware that experts have concluded that distillation eliminates gluten. I could site hundreds of other examples.

The moral of this story: read ingredient labels DEFENSIVELY, study websites DEFENSIVELY, listen DEFENSIVELY, be wary when you make a decision to dine at a particular restaurant. In my case, it means to WRITE DEFENSIVELY and THINK CAREFULLY before I release my words on the internet.

Obviously, this is an editorial and these are my personal opinions.

Have a great week.