Check the links that detect the e-manure being electronically squished in your direction. And don't believe everything you read. Electronic e-mail is no more accurate than any other source in the world. Consider anything to be false gossip that is not directly from the actual person or event. Apply the same standard as a court would against hearsay evidence.
People love to repeat information and almost never check to see if it's true.
Most pranks have forged headers and signatures, and when you try to verify the validity of the message, you will find that the address is not valid. If it's a forwarded message from a friend, check to see if they really know anything other than message text. If not, then don't forward. They are designed to make as much money as possible. So if a front page false story is printed with big bold print, then you can rely on the fact that the retraction will be in tiny small print on the back page.