Stories that start innocent enough often morph into something else.

Do you remember that game of “telephone” you played in elementary school?

The first person in the circle makes an innocent statement to the next person. “Mrs. Teacher is going on vacation to Hawaii next week.”

By the time it gets passed along to the end of the circle the statement has morphed into “Mrs. Teacher’s husband is buying Antarctica and moving their because he hates Mrs. Teacher and never wants to see her again.”

Sometimes the internet seems like that.

Consider an article I wrote on February 2 about the Pac-10 filing a UDRP with WIPO to get Pac12.com.

By the time the USA Today picked it up it had morphed into a lawsuit that could lead to a financial settlement.

That’s simply not true.

Then AllHipHop.com quoted the USA Today article, saying “According to the USA Today, representatives for Pac-10 are hoping to reach a settlement with the owner of the domain.”

Hmm. It doesn’t appear any representative of the Pac-10 has commented on this matter to USA Today. AllHipHop twisted USA Today’s already twisted information about a possible financial settlement to get to this.

One person you don’t want to talk to right now about this game of internet telephone is DNJournal editor Ron Jackson.

While at DOMAINfest he lamented to a group of bloggers about how the media always screws up quotes. Less than a week later his comments about the illness following DOMAINfest have quickly morphed.

Jackson told the New York Post that one member of a four person contingent from Sweden was diagnosed with legionnelosis. The Post quoted Jackson as saying all four of them contracted the illness.

By the time this story went on ABC’s morning show, it turned into “at least four” Swedish participants being diagnosed with legionnaire’s disease.