Paul Corfield wrote:
On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:45:05 +0100, Recliner
wrote:

On Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:02:41 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:

Why is it that you can have everyone on an escalator standing on the right
yet there's always one muppet tourist standing on the left who doesn't
seem to clock that fact? Where do these people leave their brains when they
visit London?

Funnily enough, the Beeb has just published a feature on this topic:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23444086

Not that funny - "journalists" have long picked up on usenet issues to
turn them into stories. Some groups have even managed to create false
stories which were then published nationally despite them being a
complete hoax. Things like twitter and facebook have just expanded
the range of sources. Plenty of press and PR offices also read these
sources to see what's being said by whom.

It is also interesting to note that the "1980s tube photos" are now
gaining rather more prominence.

Yes, I did wonder about that, but this particular BBC feature seems to have
been written by a US-based reporter, based on US news reports. It also
looks like it's based on some background research that probably started
before this thread. So, in this case at least, it may just be a
coincidence, but I'm sure you're correct about other stories.