Let's start your Monday with a grin since this is a test of your hoax detector...unless you like Fox News; then you might be temporarily offended. PRWeb published and then Yahoo republished a study claiming that Fox New viewers have a lower IQ than the rest of the nation. “Study shows that the Americans who watch Fox News have an average IQ of 80, whereas the national average is 100. Researchers were not ‘shocked’ by findings,” stated the fake study by a fake “Intelligence Institute.” Whether or not you like Fox News, your BS meter should be blaring a red alert. Here is a screenshot of the excerpt from the article, just in case Yahoo yanks it.When the supposed intelligence study was not seen on PRWeb, some folks, such as cryptology and computer security expert Matt Blaze asked if Yahoo News was hacked or social engineered. Then Blaze added, “Really ought to be a bullsh*t detection 101.” If there was a study conducted, then it might be more along the lines of studying who blindly accepts study press releases. In fact, Reddit had a long discussion about the validity of the press release, even though it does play into the “anti-Fox hivemind.”Then the Huffington Post had an exclusive with the Fox News PR hoax master, the alleged Intelligence Institute lead researcher, P. Nichols, who claimed, “PRWeb suspended the account of the group that posted the press release and demanded a meeting on Monday December 10 where they expect Nichols to provide more evidence to back the press release’s claims before they will keep this press release up or agree to post any others down the road.” It’s up to you if you care to buy into that one. Nichols admitted calling himself a lead researcher is a stretch of the imagination, especially since the Intelligence Institute doesn’t even exist. In fact, the study didn’t take four years and “may not have tested anyone’s IQ.”This is not the first and surely won’t be the last press release hoax. If it’s too good, too funny to be true, then it probably isn’t, such as the supposed study about the intelligence of Internet Explorer users, which claimed IE users had a lower IQ than that of other web browser users. If you are a Fox News basher and feel somewhat deflated, then this might lift your spirits. Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University and an analyst for the PublicMind Poll, published Fox bashing “findings” last year about how Fox News “enhances stupidity.”The conclusion of Some News Leaves People Knowing Less: “Sunday morning news shows do the most to help people learn about current events, while some outlets, especially Fox News, lead people to be even less informed than those who say they don’t watch any news at all.” Cassino added in What you know depends on what you watch, “Ideological news sources, like Fox and MSNBC, are really just talking to one audience. This is solid evidence that if you’re not in that audience, you’re not going to get anything out of watching them.” Ready for some real news? The Next Web reported that Russian hackers broke into the Miami Family Medical Centre, an Australian medical clinic, and held the patient records for a $4,000 ransom. This is not the first time for medical-data blackmail, either; other extortion schemes included demanding $10 million from the Virginia’s Department of Health for 8.3 million stolen patient records. In fact, after hackers stole, encrypted and demanded payment for patient records from a Libertyville, Illinois, health provider, Bloomberg reported on the growing medical-data crime niche since 2004.Like this? Here’s more posts:‘Everyone in US under virtual surveillance;’ Are you sure you have nothing to hide?Feds monitor Facebook: What you ‘Like’ may make you a terroristKiller robots, indestructible drones & drones that fly and spy indefinitelyNaughty or nice? Verizon DVR will see and hear you to find out before delivering adsDeanonymizing You: I know who you are after 1 click online or a mobile callSocial media surveillance helps the government read your mindMicrosoft provides fusion center technology & funding for surveillanceYou + Big Data = Not Anonymous; Microsoft develops Differential Privacy for everyoneTexas School RFID student tracking conflict headed for Federal courtDigital privacy in the big data era: Microsoft’s data protection keynote Follow me on Twitter @PrivacyFanatic Related content news Dow Jones watchlist of high-risk businesses, people found on unsecured database A Dow Jones watchlist of 2.4 million at-risk businesses, politicians, and individuals was left unprotected on public cloud server. By Ms. Smith Feb 28, 2019 4 mins Data Breach Hacking Security news Ransomware attacks hit Florida ISP, Australian cardiology group Ransomware attacks might be on the decline, but that doesn't mean we don't have new victims. A Florida ISP and an Australian cardiology group were hit recently. By Ms. Smith Feb 27, 2019 4 mins Ransomware Security news Bare-metal cloud servers vulnerable to Cloudborne flaw Researchers warn that firmware backdoors planted on bare-metal cloud servers could later be exploited to brick a different customer’s server, to steal their data, or for ransomware attacks. By Ms. Smith Feb 26, 2019 3 mins Cloud Computing Security news Meet the man-in-the-room attack: Hackers can invisibly eavesdrop on Bigscreen VR users Flaws in Bigscreen could allow 'invisible Peeping Tom' hackers to eavesdrop on Bigscreen VR users, to discreetly deliver malware payloads, to completely control victims' computers and even to start a worm infection spreading through VR By Ms. Smith Feb 21, 2019 4 mins Hacking Vulnerabilities Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe