Earlier this year, David Zellers, president of the Denton chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, received an e-mail from his sister in Ohio. The e-mail was of the chain variety, saying that Target Corporation, parent company of the discount department store chain, was anti-veteran. Among other things, the e-mail stated that Target chose gay and lesbian causes over veterans' causes, was owned by the French, and did not support the United States Marine Corps' Toys for Tots campaign.

"I had seen this e-mail before and knew it was all b.s.," said Zellers, who served in the Army in Vietnam from 1969 to 1972. "My sister had copied a few dozen people on this thing, and I had to go back and undo it all. If you do a little research, you find this is just a hoax. And it's hurting Target and veterans' groups because some people have an agenda."

The chain e-mail about Target and its relationship with veterans' groups has been circulating for about 18 months, but has ramped up in the past few months in time for the holiday shopping season. While some have characterized the e-mail as a "hoax" or an "urban legend," it is neither. The chain e-mail is, however, an example of how the internet can shoot falsehoods around the world in an instant -- without any responsibility for those perpetuating these untruths. And for corporations like Target, public relations now involves searching online forums and chat groups as well as keeping tabs on the conventional media.

"At one point, when the war in Iraq was starting, our guest relations department was answering between 1,000 and 2,000 e-mail requests on this subject every day," said Brie Heath, spokesperson for the Minneapolis-based Target Corporation. "It's so hard to get your arms around this thing, because every time we think we are making some headway on this, it starts popping up again. In the last few months, [the e-mail] has started up again. All we can do is answer every single person who asks us about this personally."

There is no doubt as to how the e-mail started. In March 2002, Dick Forrey, president of an Indiana Vietnam veterans' group, walked into his local Target department store in Kokomo and asked the manager if Target would support a local veterans' event by contributing $100 in cash. The store manager told Forrey that cash donations are handled by Target's corporate office in Minneapolis, and that he should apply for a grant online.

There was some miscommunication with Forrey about whether a veterans group might qualify for a Target grant, as the company limits its corporate giving to organizations that promote the arts and education and work to end family violence. Regardless, Forrey was miffed at the discount chain and sent an e-mail to his organization's members. Forrey told of his displeasure with Target and how he wouldn't be shopping there any longer. But at the end of his message, Forrey added two sentences that reverberate around the internet to this day: "Please pass this on to as many people as you know. Maybe Target and other businesses will get the message."

"I made a mistake on this one, and I've learned a hard lesson -- that's for sure," Forrey told Fort Worth Weekly from his home in Indiana last week. "What started out as a message for the members in our organization has turned into a hate-type thing. I never wanted to start any national boycott. I just wish it would all stop."

By June 2002, Forrey had contacted Target's guest relations people and realized that the company did support veterans' causes. For example, Target was a major sponsor of the "Wall That Heals" tour, a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Forrey also learned that Target donates $2 million a week to charitable groups -- including veterans organizations -- and the company topped Forbes' list of "most philanthropic companies" in 2002 and 2003.

But truth did not stop Forrey's e-mail. In fact, the e-mail was changed over time into something very different from the original. In March 2003, someone changed Forrey's wording that the company supported "the arts, social actions, and family violence prevention," to read that Target supported "the arts, social actions, gay and lesbian causes, and education." By April 2003, according to the urban legend web site, www.snopes.com, the e-mail was changed to state that Target was French-owned. This past summer, the e-mail was further amended to state that Target didn't support Toys for Tots.

"Some people have used my words and perpetuated lies," Forrey said. "It's sad that some of these people would use veterans as a way to push their own political views. I've sent out a retraction, and no one pays any attention. It's really strange, but in the past six or seven weeks, it has intensified. I have no idea why this is getting new life."

The facts are that Target Corporation -- which also owns the Mervyn's and Marshall Field's chains -- is an American company that's been based in Minnesota since 1902. Target does not allow its stores to be used as collection points for Toys for Tots, but does give discounts to groups buying toys for the charity (its Marshall Field's subsidiary is a major corporate sponsor of Toys for Tots, donating $1 million worth of toys last year). As to the gay and lesbian allegation, Target supports family anti-violence groups and is a major sponsor of Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Despite the fact that the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Veterans Helping Veterans have all posted messages on their web sites debunking the chain e-mail, it continues to bounce around the internet. Joyce Daugirda, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America's Fort Worth Chapter 330, said the Target boycott has been the subject of some conversation within her organization, but she has relied on the explanation from the national VVA headquarters that the contents of the e-mail are false. "We are very cautious about things we see on the internet," Daugirda said. "People get angry and start rehashing old wounds, and they show up in e-mail chains like this."

In viewing the message boards and chat groups that have been pushing the Target e-mail, it is obvious that the senders are politically conservative. They complain that Target doesn't fly as many flags in their stores as competitor Wal-Mart, that Hillary Clinton serves on Target's board (not true), and that the company tries to be too stylish. A lot of the animosity toward Target might stem from the old Wal-Mart versus Target debate. Wal-Mart is all about small-town virtue, while Target embraces the SUV-driving suburban housewife, or so some of the thinking goes. Wal-Mart ads feature its sales associates modeling clothes; Target highlights its new clothing line by gay New York designer Isaac Mizrahi.

But Zellers thinks the war against Target by conservatives will hurt veterans in the long run. "After 9-11, veterans' groups have been afforded a lot of goodwill, and we have worked very hard over the years to get to that point," he said. "The fact that people are using veterans to promote their own causes really makes me sick."

Dan McGraw is a Fort Worth author and freelance writer.