Fake Op-Ed Dupes NYTimes Writer and Others Over the Weekend: So Here‘s ’How to Spot a Hoax’
- Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:15pm by
Liz Klimas
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On Saturday, an op-ed appearing to be written by Bill Keller — former Executive Editor for the New York Times who is currently a writer — defending Wikileaks in an effort to defend journalists’ rights appeared on the New York Times online. Or so it seemed. The story itself appeared to have been tweeted from Keller’s account. It was then tweeted by another New York Times writer and others. From there it snowballed, as things on social media often do.
Screenshot of the fake New York Times op-ed allegedly by Bill Keller but later revealed to be penned by Wikileaks.
Thanks to a strongly worded tweet — literally, it was in all caps — from Keller within 24 hours, the op-ed was revealed as a hoax, for which Wikileaks later claimed responsibility. Read the full fake op-ed here.
As Craig Silverman on Poynter writes this hoax was planned, well plotted and, as a result, successfully executed. That said, he calls this incident an “emerging form of social hoax.” Silverman points to Josh Stearns’ piece on Storify showing how it all played out. Stearns chronologically curated the tweets of the news spreading on major news sources, including by the Times’ Nick Bilton. Stearns then shows Keller’s statement on the piece and the cascade of corrections that followed (see below):
Tweets spreading the fake op-ed. (Image via Josh Stearns/Storify)
Setting the record straight about the fake op-ed. (Image via Josh Stearns/Storify)
Although Gizmodo writes the op-ed was “realistic,” others like Venture Beat call it “terribly written” and not up to Keller’s par. Still, many were fooled. As Stearns and others point out though, when you take a closer look at other elements surrounding the piece and how it may have gotten started, the hoax is revealed. Take the Twitter account issued the first tweet about the fake editorial, for example. It was posted by @nytkeIler. At first glance, this may look like Bill Keller’s actually twitter account, but an “l” is in fact an uppercase “I”. Stearns also includes that some have looked into the backend code on the “New York Times op-ed page” where the article appeared and found clues there as well. The URL itself is telling too (see below).
URL for the fake New York Times opinion page.
Here's how the real New York Times opinion page URL would look.
Check out Stearns’ full post on Storify for more details on how the hoax was revealed here.
Silverman wants others to be ready to tell fact from fiction. Check out his presentation on “how to spot a hoax”:
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LaptopRepairData
Posted on July 31, 2012 at 1:28pmExcellent Topic
Report Post »shanis78
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:30pmNow that is funny!!
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 8:58pmthe mentally ill have taken over…only the sane understand how dangerous they are to freedom and libert.y..
Report Post »drphil69
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:45pmROTFLMAO… gee, the NYTimes staff is too lazy to check with one of their own writers? What a surprise!!
FACTS? WE DONT NEED NO STINKING FACTS!!
Report Post »BryanB
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:37pmI tell you right now you have a problem on the Blaze, with Editors and Journalist from AOL Patch and The Huffington Post, just to name a few, Trolling the Blaze……….
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:35pmThey should have know it was a fake right away, there wasn’t any misspelled words, errors, and was pretty much a coherent article. At that point they should have questioned it.
Report Post »00gabooga
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:30pmHere is the guideline for their research department.
Does it make the left look good? ——-> YES ——–> Run it.
Report Post »|
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NO ———-> Don’t run it.
AvengerK
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:20pmAh yes..another example of the dogged investigative reporting of today’s media.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:11pmMore evidence of the stellar research / verification staff in the legacy media
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:07pmTo quote a well known President
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
Report Post »- Abraham Lincoln
Landon410
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:46pmAl Gore made the internest so Abraham Lincoln could make money off of it, and stuff
Report Post »GIDEON612
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 2:04pmWell it is pretty easy to tell. If ANYTHING comes from the socialist/progressive movement it is a lie or designed to favor them in the end.
Report Post »KyleD
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:55pmThat’s an obvious fake and anyone remotely techy should have spotted it, certainly the so-called tech editor of the new york times. Bravo, Nick Bolton, for showing your incompetence.
Report Post »Wool-Free Vision
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:38pmThe most delicious irony in this clusterpiece is the fact that the duped alarmist who tweeted the link is Nick Bilton, THE TECHNOLOGY EDITOR of The New York Times. Hahahaha! Incompetence on display at The Times, who woulda thunk it? If ANYONE should have spotted the obviously fake URL, it SHOULD HAVE BEEN the damn Tech Editor who pasted it into his tweet and then pressed send.
Does the fool not know his own website????
Report Post »Wool-Free Vision
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:51pmPardon me. “Technology Editor” should be “NYT Lead Technology Writer” and “NYT Bits Bites Blogger.” The irony is just as thick.
Report Post »Wool-Free Vision
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 3:32pmEven more irony: Bilton is currently writing a book called “The Twitter Story,” due to be published in 2013.
You can’t make this stuff up. It would be hilarious, except for the fact that there are DOZENS of Americans who still take the NYT seriously.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:27pmHere we go again.
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