Online rumors deserve zero tolerance

MANY COFFEE DRINKERS in China have been in a panic after a post was circulated on social media on the weekend alleging that coffee causes cancer. Beijing News comments:

The post quoted a report that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a decision on Wednesday that Starbucks and other companies had failed to show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in the coffee roasting process.

People should raise their media literacy and ask more questions before believing everything they read. The article was deliberately being sensational by warning people that coffee was carcinogenic without saying how much might be dangerous.