Using "urban legends" as an inspirational or recruiting tool

@jtr115 (722)
United States
September 5, 2008 12:56am CST
I have been wondering what everyone's opinion was about people/companies who e-mail statements which turn out to be urban legends to their friends or co-workers. When I expressed an interest in joining a multi-level marketing company a few years ago, the company sent me an e-mail containing an alleged interview between David Letterman and Donald Trump. The story claimed Letterman asked Trump what he would do if he lost everything and had to start over, and Trump said he'd go into multi-level marketing. When the audience laughed, Trump looked at them and said "That's why I'm sitting up here and you're sitting out there." I discovered about a year later that this story was false (It was based on a Johnny Carson interview with Trump, but Trump verified he was joking when he said he'd join Amway.) Another urban legend I received recently from a former co-worker was an editorial credited to Jay Leno, the one which says America is a country full of ungrateful spoiled brats. I was aware of the snopes.com site by that time, so I verified Leno hadn't written the piece. I forwarded the Snopes link to the co-worker. In cases like the latter, where the story is meant to motivate others instead of recruit them into a business opportunity, do you think it is okay to forward an urban legend?
1 person likes this
1 response
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Sep 08
Yes, I think it's okay...but as with anything like that...ie material taken from someone else or a different site...the source needs to be named and if you haven't done so, it also needs to be verified so that the recipients are quite clear where the info came from and whether it's true or not.