Have you ever had someone explain in detail how Marlboro ciggies were owned by the Klu Klux Klan, pointing as evidence to Ks and horses on the packaging?

Or the one about Procter & Gamble donating a proportion on profits to the Church of Satan? That logo of theirs gives the game away apparently.

The trouble is with these kinds of urban myth is that for the companies involved, it’s very hard to fight against. If you ignore it, people think you’ve got something to hide. Deny it and it gives credence to the story.

So it’s hard not to feel sorry for MySpace, which is becoming known, with very little evidenc,e as the home of every sexual predator under the sun - a veritable haven of pederasts just waiting to kidnap and rape every kid who signs up.

Consider this quote from Dana Boyd (via Susan Mernit):

“…On February 15, Alexis Beyer and Alexandra Dimarco disappeared and their parents went to the media to find them. They were completely and utterly convinced that they were abducted because of their use of MySpace.

Beyer’s mother went so far as to say, “if I’m wrong about this whole thing, I’m willing to become the laughingstock of the city.”

When folks at MySpace got wind of what was going on, they contacted the police to help in any way possible. Through IP logs, they found that the girls had not logged in for many days before their disappearance. Their profiles were filled with information about how they loved each other; they marked themselves as bisexual.

The police were convinced that they simply ran away, angering their mothers. The mothers were scheduled to appear on numerous national TV shows when the two girls were found. They had run away. One came back voluntarily but the other was brought back forcibly. Nothing has been written in the media exclaiming that the teens are safe. Nothing has been written in the media to correct the link to MySpace.”

The fact is that MySpace is almost certainly as safe as any site out there for kids, especially if they abide by the rules that should be brainwashed into them from the age of 7. MySpace also features these prominently on their site, but unless they’re reinforced by teachers and parents, it makes it hard to drum into the kids. It’s like telling them to cross a highway without teaching them how to cross safely.

MySpace is also being squeezed by new start ups in the business who claim to offer a safe alternative, like Industrious Kid whose very existence implies that something else (ie MySpace) is dangerous.

Which all goes to show that sometime you can even feel sorry for Rupert Murdoch.