Question

e-mail hoaxes are often successful because:

a. critical reading skills cannot be successfully applied to e-mail messages.

b. there are no longer reliable sources of information on the internet.

c. people tend to believe something they read more easily than something they hear.

d. the producers of these hoaxes are able to fool the audience about the source of the text.

Explanation:

• Option A is incorrect because critical reading skills can be applied to email messages to spot hoaxes.
• Option B is incorrect as there are still many reliable information sources online.
• Option C is incorrect because there is no consistent evidence that people inherently trust written content more than auditory content.
• Option D is correct because email hoaxes often succeed by spoofing or hiding the true source, making recipients trust the message's origin.

Answer:

D. the producers of these hoaxes are able to fool the audience about the source of the text.