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At the advent of the internet age, it was a commonly accepted truism that any information gleaned from discussions with fellow netizens should be treated with a healthy degree of suspicion. In public forums without any professional obligation to deal in verifiable facts, the potential for lies to pollute the discourse is obvious. Communities of early net adopters like video gamers or sports fans have long dealt with rumor mongers of dubious quality and motivation. But as the internet has gained more users and a wider cultural reach, this critical eye has fallen by the wayside. Many people fall victim to scams, conspiracy theories, and just plain old bad advice from the internet. Local Maryland attorneys at Malloy Law Offices have partnered with the MoCo Show to discuss the perils of bad or faulty legal advice on the internet.
General Misinformation Tips
The vast amount of half-truths, misunderstanding, and willful misinformation clogging up the information superhighway has become a hot topic in recent years. The duplicity of bad actors can prey on people’s fears and biases to make them accept flawed or invented conclusions as fact. But fortunately, a booming misinformation industry also means a deeper interrogation of how misinformation works, and how people can detect and fight it.
When you encounter a news item on the internet, you may wish to consider the following:
- What is the general mood of the site?
- Do they have a specific ideological mission?
- What is the story beyond the headline?
- Is the author credible? Do they even exist?
- Are there sources for the claims contained in the article?
- Is the news recent? When is the story dated?
- Is this satire? Is it intended as a joke?
- Could personal bias be clouding your judgement?
Walking through these steps, as well as consulting with experts and fact-checking services, can keep you safe from the damaging consequences of misinformation.
A Disturbing Trend
The vast majority of legal advice on the internet is just innocuous falsehood and half-truth. Oftentimes, confidently incorrect people put a bit too much faith in their comprehension of the law from police procedurals and half-remembered legal advice from friends and family. Potentially hazardous, if taken seriously, but not exactly malicious. There is, after all, a difference between malice and incompetence.
However, one malicious online movement truly shows how damaging and dangerous internet “legal advice” can actually be. Are you at all acquainted with the “sovereign citizen” movement? This pseudo-legal conspiracy theory preys on people without legal education. In short, this conspiracy theory seeks to convince people that certain laws can be circumvented or outright ignored through a combination of phony documentation, legal-sounding gibberish, and rhetorical confrontation with law enforcement officials. In particular, self-described “sovereign citizens” often run afoul of the law for:
- Driving with no driver’s license or an expired license.
- Driving without proper registration, documentation, or license plates.
- Failure to pay taxes.
- Failure to pay fines and citations, such as parking tickets.
- Truancy violations concerning their children.
Victims of this movement have lost jobs and livelihoods due to arrest, had their homes foreclosed due to nonpayment of mortgage, and lost vast sums of money to con men. Most often, an executor of a sovereign citizen conspiracy theory will present themselves as a legal professional, and charge fees for the performance of fraudulent services and the procurement of nonsensical legal documents. In some extreme cases, victims may even fall prey to identity theft due to surrendering their social security numbers.
While it obviously represents an extreme, fringe case, it truly does illustrate the dangers of seeking legal advice from the internet.
How Local Attorneys at Malloy Law Can Help
The law can be an intimidating subject to the layperson. Legal codes are often long and full of dense terminology that most of us do not encounter in our day to day lives. There is absolutely no shame in reaching out to an experienced professional for the legal answers you need. If you have a medical question, you consult a doctor. If you have a legal question, consult a lawyer.
The team at Malloy Law Offices is home to the DMV’s personal injury specialists. If you or a loved one has been injured by another party’s negligence, Malloy Law can help. Contact Malloy Law Offices today for a free consultation.