SAN JOSE, California (The Adobo Chronicles, Silicon Valley Bureau) – Sylvester Stallone is dead. Jaden Smith has committed suicide. The United Nations has elected a Filipina Secretary General.  Southwest Air is giving away free tickets!  These are all hoaxes, of course.

But if it’s on CNN, ABC News, The Guardian, or the Internet, it must be true, right?

Wrong.

All it takes is a closer examination of the posts you’re reading before you hit that ‘share’ button.  It will save you some unnecessary embarrassment.

Look at how Sylvester Stallone’s name was spelled.

Southwest Air doesn’t have a ‘period’ after its logo.

ABCNEWS.COM is NOT the same as abcnews.com.co.

The Guardian uses an ‘i’, NOT the number 1.

Oh, wait.  Golden Girls’ Rue McClanahan has died.  True, but it happened quite a while ago.

When in doubt, check with Snopes.com.

And when you’re reading The Adobo Chronicles, scroll to the bottom of our stories for the fact check meter.  Better still, read our ‘About’ page.

By the way, if you happen to come across a Rappler story, make sure you check the date of their story:

Happy surfing!