by 
The Curious Bag
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<h4 class="dechead">On One Hand: Email Petitions Are Usually a Waste of Time
The prevailing consensus is that email petitions rarely work. Not only do they lack the legal weight of paper petitions, they seem to circulate forever without getting anywhere, and they're too easy to fake. Just because a petition has 50,000 names on it doesn't mean those names are valid, so most recipients ignore them.
On the Other: They Do Serve Some Useful Purposes
Debunker site Snopes.com points out that while most email petitions are useless, some can alert people to certain situations they might not otherwise be aware of. They also represent the concerns of a segment of the American constituency, which has drawn the attention of some of the powers that be in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
Bottom Line
Email petitions usually don't work, for two basic reasons: first, they rarely get to their final destinations, and second, they're too easy to falsify. However, they can offer some informational value when genuine, and some politicians do pay at least a little attention to them.
Source:
Snopes.com: Internet Petitions
Truth or Fiction: Focus on Internet Petitions
Salon.com: Do Email Petitions Work
More Information:
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