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Troubling Hoax
By mikeforman in Forman Flashes
July 11, 2008

A University of Texas employee has admitted posting a bogus newspaper story on a Internet message board saying two University of Oklahoma quarterbacks had been arrested on drug charges.

The employee, who said he is a Nebraska fan, wrote and posted the false story on a template from The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City's daily newspaper,

The employee said he wrote the false story because he was upset by deragatory comments about Nebraska from Oklahoma fans on a Nebraska message board.

The University of Texas investigated the posting and found it did not occur on university equipment or time so it will not penalize the employee.

However, the father of one of the Oklahoma quarterbacks mentioned in the false story said he plans to pursue legal action.

This is a painful reminder of the misue of free expression on the Internet. It behooves us to check facts and beware.