There is a well documented effect, first noticed with Slashdot, that happens when a popular website links to a smaller one and the resulting traffic flow cripples the latter. This is called the Digg effect in relation to articles posted on Digg that go down due to the traffic.
I've noticed another Digg Effect, however; a more insidious, information-crippling one. I first had a look at this effect when Digg users posted about so-called "spyware" installed with the PC edition of Bioshock. The article linked to becomes irrelevant in the face of the headline linking to it once the number of Diggs has reached a great enough level. This means that Digg users trying to draw attention to a page can easily render it in more sensationalist terms, draw conclusions loosely based on the facts and generally deceive fellow Diggers simply through the titling of their Digg story.
This is how rumors start, and spread; a Digg reader will always prefer to skim over the summary than to read the actual text included. If I come across more of this borderline yellow-journalism I'll try to post some links here.