In 2005, a Wikipedia entry claimed that veteran journalist John Siegenthaler had been a suspect in President Kennedy's assassination.
Last month, comedian Bill Cosby was surprised to read that he had died.
And yesterday, Chief Justice John Roberts was the last to know...he resigned from the Supreme Court for personal reasons.
All of those stories are pure poppycock that proliferated online until they were proven false.
At this point in the notebook I could wag a finger at the Internet and extol the virtues of accuracy in reporting...but I like to keep you guessing.
Rebecca Jeschke of the Electronic Frontier Foundation pointed out to us...truth can rip through cyberspace as quickly as lies. Rumors like these are often squashed within minutes...as bloggers gnaw at new information like piranhas in a pool.
But that's little solace for the subject of the rumor, or a reader who simply wants to surf the Web...without getting pulled under by a rip tide of lies.
Last night on American Idol, Simon Cowell offered praise to Crystal Bowersox, the crunchy coffee shop chanteuse who's an early favorite in the competition.
He said, "I misunderestimated you last week."
How apropos that his gaffe would come on the eve of National Grammar Day.
"Misunderestimate" is not a word, and somewhere E.B White is champing at the bit to correct it. That's right, it's "champing," not "chomping."
Those mistakes are made a lot...two words..."a" and "lot." You wouldn't write "a little" as one word would you?
And it's a shame that so many of us misuse apostrophes. I-t-apostrophe-s on that one.
Never end a sentence with a preposition. Why would you do a thing like THAT for?
Who can avoid common grammatical errors? Someone for whom proper usage is a virtue.
So dust off your phonics book today...and become a grammar idol.
As William Safire once said, "Only in grammar can you be more than perfect."
If you're on Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare, you've seen them: a friend posts about the sushi she's eating right now at a favorite restaurant ... or worse ... tweets about boarding a plane for vacation.
While that may seem like a little innocent fun, a new web site with a blunt name shows the dark side. Please rob me-dot-com puts that kind of information in one place and tells the world when you're not at home.
Now, it seems unlikely this could serve as a burglar's guide, but that's not the point. We've become so used to sharing personal information online, we tend to forget to think twice.
There are plenty of people who have literally thousands of Facebook friends. And they can't possibly know them all. And with Twitter, there's no telling who's following your every move.
Some of these people may not exactly have your best interests in mind ... and with friends like those ... Who needs enemies?
I usually end my notebook with a signoff. But today, I'm going to start there. I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
But online, I could be anyone just by changing my screen name or using no name at all.
Anonymous atom bombs of animosity are nothing new in the comment section, and neither are the trolls and haters who leave them behind. But just when I think I've seen the bottom of the cyber barrel, along comes a new low.
This weekend, the suicide of Marie Osmond's son Michael topped the entertainment sites. I generally don't read the comments section...but this time, unfortunately, I did. I saw cruel barbs, senseless sniping and opinions without portfolio from pseudonyms clicking away in the ether.
Websites aren't legally responsible for reader comments but they also aren't legally required to allow anonymous ones nd they shouldn't. And that includes our own.
Free speech is protected, but we need to protect the basic laws of civility. Especially in times of personal tragedy.
Clifden Kennedy was the original producer for Steve Hartman's "Assignment America."
Before the movie deal, before the book deal, before Oprah - before he was famous - Jason "J-Mac" McElwain was a high school kid sitting across from me at an Applebee's.
Nearly forty percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 have a tattoo. It's all fun and games until you no longer "heart" Bobby...and that butterfly on your hip will be flying a lot lower when you're 50.
But there's something more indelible than ink on their bodies...it's the impression the past decade...the wars...the recession...has made on the minds of the Millennials...as this generation is called.
A new Pew Research Center study found more than one third are unemployed. One in six of them over 22 had to move back in with their parents. They voted in record numbers for change in 2008...but today roughly half say they are disappointed...that change never came.
Still, about 90 percent of these young adults say they're optimistic about their futures despite a lousy job market and gridlock in Washington. I don't know if this generation will fare as well as mine did.
Their still writing their stories, lets just hope they don't write too much of it...on their skin.
(At left, what's left of the home of the photographer, Sebastian Petion.)
Check out Sebastian Petion's Photos Haiti Photo Essay - A Local Perspective After the earthquake in Haiti last month, Petion acted as a translator, and driver for CBS News.
Katie Couric calls Sebastian Petion a "jack of all trades."
After working with CBS News all day, Petion would go back to help his family and neighbors.
He and his family made it out safely, but their home and most of their possessions, were destroyed.
The Future Of Fashion (10:35) From spray-on shirts to wearable computers, Mo Rocca takes a look at the future of fashion with Project Runway guru Tim Gunn.
Jackson's Ex-Wife Won't Attend Memorial
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