2. Shock! Horror! Obama Owns a Zune!
In what would become known as ZuneGate, a contributor to a Philadelphia news weekly reported that, in December, when he was working out one morning, he was surprised by president-elect Barack Obama, who joined him at the gym. According to writer Neal Santos, Obama "hopped on the machine next to me [at the gym] and broke a mean sweat while reading a copy of USA Today and listening to his Zune."
The news Obama that used a Zune drove a bitter partisan wedge between the Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune camps. While the Zune camp celebrated what it saw as a victory, the iPod camp was outraged and wanted their votes for Obama back.
Unfortunately for Zune fans, the rumor was short-lived. An Obama spokesperson set the record straight: The president-elect actually favors the iPod.
1. Steve Jobs Dead? Not So Fast, Shorty!
Culminating my top-ten list of the biggest bogus rumors of 2008 is Steve Jobs's alleged heart attack. This farce has the same roots as the bogus Midget PC: citizen journalism.
A CNN iReport stated: "Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER [...] suffering a major heart attack." Twitter was aflutter over the news. Apple stocks fell sharply to $94. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the iReport. In the end investigators found that an 18-year-old had spread the rumor. But shortly after the "news" broke, Apple representatives reassured everyone that Jobs was fine. And the world sighed in relief.
Have I missed any juicy rumor that made headlines this year? Tell us your thoughts on what other stories we should have included in this article, and add your comments.
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