In the days before Snopes, let alone the ability for a false rumor to spread quickly in the digital domain, I was involved in another such misinformed groundswell movement perpetrated on a big-branded company.

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Snopes.com, the website committed to debunking urban legends, misinformation and Onion-style fake articles, has already created three entries on Duffel Blog stories to let readers know they aren't real.

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According to the myth-busting site Snopes.com, Lennon and McCartney each had 15 percent of the shares, Epstein (and his NEMS Enterprises) had 7.5 percent, James and partner Charles Silver had 37.5 percent and Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr had less than 2 percent.

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In addition to chasing the money trail, uncovering the original source and motives of out-there conspiracies and hoaxes online is always difficult, said David Mikkelson, co-founder of the debunking site Snopes.com.

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That fact seems destined for the biology section of Snopes after scientists found a quadruple helix.

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"It's part of how we deal with calamity and try to make sense of the senseless, " said Barbara Mikkelson, who with David Mikkelson runs Snopes.com, a Web site that lists and verifies rumors, conspiracy theories and urban legends.

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The statement is neither new nor does it confer any actual legal protection, according to Snopes.com.

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