Small business and fear of the internet.

I just read a post that has been circulating since 2002 that Pepsi has printed the Pledge of Allegiance on its cans and omitted the words "under God".  The post is untrue.  Pepsi is a huge conglomerate and probably can afford to lose a few customers though I'm sure they don't want this kind of publicity.  But it makes me think about the small "mom and pop" businesses and how quick their reputation can be tarnished by someone spreading a rumor or a bad review.  Many businesses are resorting to putting in the small print that if the customer publishes a negative review before the business is given the opportunity to correct the problem the customer is opening themselves to a lawsuit.   When I read reviews I generally ignore that one negative if all the others are positive.  But let's check our sources before posting.  The days of "I saw it on the internet, it must be true" are over.