With only a click of the mouse， rumors can be forwarded between microblogs very quickly. As an example， recently， perceptive netizens discovered that some photos displayed on microblogs depicting Beijng‘s June rainstorm had actually been fabricated.
　　Sina.com is one of the major internet portals in China with hundreds and thousands of users， and a majority of celebrities and renowned citizens have their microblog accounts on this portal. As recently as six months ago， the website decided to establish a specialized team to verify rumors and provide accurate information for its users. Tan Chao is in charge of the team.
　　“Before I took the job， I usually couldn’t identify what information was real and what was fake. But during the rumor verification process， we discovered that a lof of information was false， including fake photos， fake news stories and rumors that had been spread through microblogs.”
　　It‘s not just website portals which are taking on fact-checking responsibilities， but also a number of civic-minded netizens， who recently set up a Rumor Verification Federation on Sina.com’s microblog system to help netizens identify fake information online.
　　Dianzizheng is the team leader of the federation. He says they‘ve publicized more than 150 pieces which refute rumors， which attracted more than 10 thousand visitors within two months.
　　“We live in an age of new media， so we can’t use the old methods to verify rumors. We can‘t wait for the media to verify the facts with related administrative departments and then release a formal announcement. We can’t allow rumors to run rampant and then deal with it， we need to fight rumors while they‘re spreading. I think that this is the best way to deal with rumors nowadays.”
　　Some experts say this demonstrates the advantages of the internet compared to other traditional media. The open platform allows information to be examined and clarified by netizens. But experts like Ding Wenguo， President of the Journalism and Communication College at the China University of Political Science and Law says this self-correction function of the internet is still quite limited.
　　“It’s still quite difficult to tell which information is true in such an open environment by just reading a number of different opinions on the same issue. This is something which we need to pay attention to. If society is deluged with too much false information， and it‘s allowed to spread in such a fast manner， then people will be suspicious of all kinds of information including important information from authorities. It also exacerbates problems relating to social communications and mutual-understanding， which in turn harms society as a whole.”
　　Experts suggest that the government should react more quickly in the internet age. Once a rumor begins to spread， administrative departments should make announcements as early as possible to dispel rumors before they lead to bad outcomes.

　　【词汇讲解】
　　1. rumor n. 传闻， 风闻;谣言， 谣传
　　例句：There are all sorts of rumors in the air that dozens of people were dead in the fire.
　　有各种传闻说许多人在那场大火中死亡。
　　2. forward vt. 发送; 转寄
　　例句：Did you forward his telegram？
　　你转送了他的电报了吗？
　　3. depict vt. 描绘; 描画；描述
　　例句：They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail.
　　他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。
　　4. fabricate vt. 编造， 捏造， 虚构; 伪造
　　例句：The excuse for her absence was obviously fabricated.
　　她缺席的借口显然是瞎编的。
　　5. renowned adj. 有名的;享有声誉的
　　例句：He is one of the world’s renowned writers.
　　他是世界上知名的作家之一。
　　6. verify vt. 证实， 核实
　　例句：Subsequent events verified that his judgement was at fault.
　　接着发生的事件证实了他的判断有误。
　　7. publicize vt. 宣传
　　例句：We are trying to publicize our products by advertisement on buses.
　　我们正试图在公共汽车上做广告来宣传我们的产品。
　　8. refute vt. 驳斥，反驳，驳倒
　　例句：The argument can not be refuted at the moment.
　　这一论点现时还无法驳斥。
　　9. clarify v. 使清楚; 澄清
　　例句：He clarified his stand on the issue.
　　他澄清了他在该问题上的立场。
　　10. suspicious adj. 可疑的; 猜疑的， 疑心的; 表示怀疑的
　　例句：The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.
　　警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑， 因为他已有前科。
　　11. exacerbate vt. 使恶化;使加重
　　例句：The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain.
　　他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。
　　12. outcome n. 结果
　　例句：We are anxiously awaiting the outcome of their discussion.