Whoops: Internet Explorer IQ Story a Hoax

Well, looks like we better not talk about anyone’s IQ for a while: A story circulated last week about a study showing that Internet Explorer users had lower IQs than users of other browsers (we summarized it here). But it turns out the study was a hoax, reports the BBC, which also fell for the ruse. ApTiquant, the company allegedly behind the study, had only recently put its website up, and its staff images were swiped from a legit business in Paris.

The Paris company said it had no knowledge of ApTiquant. “It’s obviously very easy to create a bogus site like this,” says one security expert. “As all phishers know it’s easy to rip-off someone else’s webpages and pictures.” (More Internet Explorer stories.)