Tags:
Journalism of Courage
It was a hoax and one in very poor taste. Soon after the three bombs exploded in Mumbai and killed 21 people,word started spreading around through SMSes,Facebook messages and Tweets that the attack came on the birthday of Ajmal Kasab,the lone Pakistani terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 attacks in 2008.
The information spread around the country and even crossed borders,sparking outrage and even fooling reputed news organisations,who went ahead and wrote reports about the same. Within hours though,it was found to be a prank,with some Tweets attributing to someone altering Kasabs date of birth on Wikipedia,the free online encyclopedia,from September 13,1987 to July 13,1987.
However,closer to midnight,there was no reference at all to Kasabs date of birth on Wikipedia,leaving surfers mystified about the origin of the hoax.
