Mr Gill is behind IE Low IQ hoax
By Techgirl

On Aug 1, 2011, I had written about a Canadian psychometric company AptiQuant that surveyed 100,000 people over 4 weeks found that ‘a significant number of individuals with a low score on the cognitive test were found to be using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)’.  Everyone from the BBC to CNN picked up the story and it made headlines everywhere. But it was an elaborate hoax.

The fake AptiQuant website has a real apology explaining their prank

“
Ok, now that the hoax is totally uncovered, let me go back and try to sum up everything that happened over the last week.

But first, I would like to stress a few points:

1. There was no intention to insult anyone. I regret the use of word “dumb” in my press release, but it was kind of important to get media attention.
2. This was not a cheap publicity stunt, but an honest effort to create awareness about the incompatibilities of IE versions 6.0 to 8.0. I have had made futile efforts in this regard earlier too (see beastoftheweb.com)
3. I would be happy if even a 100 people stopped using IE 6.0 after this whole episode 

A little about me: My name is Tarandeep Gill. I am a computer programmer / web developer / entrepreneur. I graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. I worked briefly before quitting my job to work on my startup AtCheap, which is a comparison shopping website. I take 100% responsibility for this hoax.

..
“

(Techgoss had published the following on Aug 1, 2011)

Microsoft browser users have low IQ
By Techgirl

AptiQuant was established in 2006 in Canada by psychologist and business graduate, Leonard Howard. Over the past few years, AptiQuant has become a world leader in the field of online psychometric testing. The company designs, scientifically validates, and publishes a comprehensive range of psychometric tests for the recruitment, career management, and staff development markets.

An AptiQuant research study of 100,000 people over 4 weeks found that ‘a significant number of individuals with a low score on the cognitive test were found to be using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) versions 6.0 to 9.0. There was no significant difference in the IQ scores between individuals using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple’s Safari; however, it was on an average higher than IE users. Individuals using Opera, Camino and IE with Chrome Frame scored a little higher on an average than others. These data support the hypothesis that the IQ score and the choice of web browser are related. Our data have important implications and identify reasons behind the continuous use of outdated browsers, that has been bugging the web developers and IT companies since the last decade.’

What happened when AptiQuant released its research?  Their CEO received hate mail presumably from low IQ high anger Microsoft users.  The company was also threatened with legal action.

Leonard Howard, the CEO of the company, said that he has been receiving hate mail from IE users since yesterday. He said, “I just want to make it clear that the report released by my company did not suggest that if you use IE that means you have a low IQ, but what it really says is that if you have a low IQ then there are high chances that you use Internet Explorer.” He further went on to say that the company did not feel threatened at all by the lawsuit threats because they have all the scientific data and logs to back their claims. “A win in a court would only give a stamp of approval and more credibility to our report,” he quipped.

The company spokesman said that they are really surprised by the unexpected attention that their study got. He said that the company first thought of doing this study when they were trying to add some new features to the website and found IE versions 6.0 and 7.0 extremely difficult to work with.

Techgoss note:  Techgirl is a senior Tech journalist who reports on the IT, KPO and KPO Sectors for a leading media house.  In her spare time, she dabbles in satire in her blog techgirltalk.blogspot.com.  Techgirl has been ejected from Twitter for satirizing an Indian Minister.  Her satire blog has links to her Times of India interview detailing her being kicked out of Twitter, and then being invited back.