Welcome to the era of gullibility 2.0

On Wednesday, the digital age may have had its "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment.

Apple's stock took a tumble when popular tech blog Engadget posted a supposed "internal memo" indicating a significant delay in the releases of the much-anticipated iPhone handheld device and the Leopard operating system. The memo was a fake; Engadget had been fooled.

The blog later called the original post a "false alarm," and Apple's stock rebounded--though not to its preplunge levels. As TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington said in a post Thursday evening, "Many investors had lost a staggering amount of money in the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth."

For millions of online news junkies, gadget enthusiasts, and Apple stockholders, "Applegate" has become a reminder of a very old lesson: Don't believe everything you read.

The publication of erroneous rumors, incorrect facts--Dewey didn't actually defeat Truman, as we all know--and pranks that were taken too seriously (War of the Worlds, anyone?) has plagued the media industry since its earliest days. It's no secret, however, that the Internet and blogging have changed the landscape entirely.

With push-button publishing, publications no longer have a day's wait to break news--a two-minute call to confirm a scoop can mean that another site breaks the news first. With the availability of so much information, and the ability to immediately connect with so many people and then broadcast a message, the online world has also proven to be a formidable engine for rumors. Some are true. Some aren't. Either way, the Web audience's appetite for gossip seems inexhaustible.