News travels fast on the Internet. Especially news that is fake.

That’s kind of the problem with the Web: no accountability.

Make fun of daily newspapers all you want, but they still (at least for the time being) take responsibility when printing something that is outright false – as in the writer tends to get fired.

Not so much when perpetrating deception online. Which has made it all the more amusing that Yahoo, the great provider of instant news, has been burned several times in the last month for leading its home page with stories that turn out to be deceptions.

First came pictures of the “lost Amazon tribe” alongside the report that photographer Jose Carlos Meirelles had discovered an isolated society near the Brazilian-Peruvian border. Provocative photos captured the colorfully painted members waving their spears at Meirelles as he hovered above snapping shots from a helicopter.

Later he admitted the tribe had been known to the western world since 1910, and he was faking the tale to call attention to hazards the natives faced from the logging industry.

So the photos were real, but the story was fake.

Next came a technological twist on fakery.

Yahoo led with a feature titled “Amazing ball girl catch.” The video shows a young woman climbing the wall of a baseball stadium like Spider-Man to snag a fly ball in foul territory. As the crowd cheers, the camera cuts to reaction shots of stunned players.

Even major TV news networks picked up the story as gospel, with peppy morning anchors giving a “you-go-girl” endorsement while the footage played.

Never mind that the implication was this took place at a Major League game, yet the ball girl was wearing a “Grizzlies” uniform. Never mind that any ball girl/boy who intentionally interfered with a ball in play would be subsequently escorted out of the venue.

Come to find out that the scripted clip is part of a Gatorade campaign.

Oops.

Filmed at a stadium in Fresno, Calif., an actress was maneuvered on wires that were then digitally erased. The spot was created as part of a viral marketing series for Gatorade by Chicago ad agency Element 79 Partners. It was placed on YouTube with no explanation, and 14 million or so views later, it became “real.”

Note how there’s a bottle of Gatorade at the ball girl’s feet when she sits down.

There’s a new video out this week that reeks of similar duplicity and/or marketing gimmick.

This blurry clip shows Washington Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham booting a 110-yard field goal during an informal practice.

Considering Suisham’s career longest is 52 yards and last season he ranked 26th in the league in kickoff touchback percentage, what are the chances digital chicanery is involved?

Better check to see if there’s a bottle of Gatorade at his feet.