Don't Get Fooled Again: How To Spot An Internet Hoax

"Sarah Palin is so dumb, she doesn't know Africa is a continent!" This remark slipped out of the mouth of McCain policy adviser Martin Eisenstadt, said MSNBC anchor David Shuster on Nov 10. But today we know there's no such person as Martin Eisenstadt. He was just a hoax perpetrated by two pranksters named Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish. The truth was established way back in June, thanks to good sleuthing by blogger William K. Wolfrum.

Wait... back in June? Then how come MSNBC, The New Republic, and The Los Angeles Times all fell for the hoax just two weeks ago? Maybe it's time for the mainstream media to take a remedial source-checking class. And who better to lead it than Wolfrum --

Did you suspect Eisenstadt was a hoax from the get-go?

William K. Wolfrum: Don't I wish. I was suckered into reporting a story about a right-winger named Michael Eisenstadt who was engaged in gay and "tranny" bashing. I have a bad tendency of rarely writing about stories sent to me via email, so I went with it.

When did blogger's remorse set in?

Almost immediately. A Google search of "Michael Eisenstadt" brought up two people: an impressive foreign policy expert who works for the Washington Institute, and a crazy neocon with a bio suspiciously similar to the real Eisenstadt's resume.

Did you push the panic button?

I made phone calls. This is important: don't let being a "blogger" dissuade you from contacting people. I left a message with the real Michael Eisenstadt, who called me back promptly. It became clear he had nothing to do with the Africa story. I also called the Washington Post, who said they had no reason to believe the real Michael Eisenstadt was currently working with the McCain Campaign.

You could have simply deleted this story from your archives. Instead, you played "Javert to Eisenstadt's Valjean," as the New York Times poetically put it.

A vast and deceptive sock-puppet show was under way, although "Team Eisenstadt" wasn't being very careful. They used the same aliases over and over to post comments on popular liberal blogs like Huffington Post and Crooks & Liars, and at newspapers like The Wall Street Journal-- all to create the false illusion of a McCain staffer named Eisenstadt. The lesson here: you should Google screen names. You'll be surprised what turns up.

How else did you run Eisenstadt to ground?

I looked up the IP address of websites associated with the fake Eisenstadt, like The Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy, where he is a so-called senior fellow. Eisenstadtgroup.com and hardinginstitute.org share the same IP address, which is telling. Even the name "Harding" provided a clue: Warren G. Harding was a third-rate president...his think tank would have been a joke.

"Team Eisenstadt" knew you were on to them last summer. Why did they persist?

Who knows? Boredom? When Eisenstadt first contacted me, he used the name Michael. To distance himself from my hoax warnings, he changed his first name to M. Thomas, and then finally to Martin.

When did you become convinced Eisenstadt was the viral blogger Abrad2345?

Eisenstadt put a video of himself on YouTube. Here is Eisenstadt. Here is Abrad2345. Obviously they're the same guy. In the blogosphere, many people already knew that Abrad2345 is Eitan Gorlin, an obscure filmmaker with a creative partner named Dan Mirvish.

Gorlin and Mirvish said they're not to blame. The blame lies with the shoddiness of the 24-hour news media, especially the blogosphere.

It's easy to blame the blogosphere, but MSNBC broke the story and they deserve the criticism. As Salon.com pointed out, it was a blogger who uncovered the hoax months ago. If MSNBC, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Republic had bothered to Google the name "Martin Eisenstadt," the third entry to come up would have been my post calling him out as a hoax.

Why didn't the McCain Campaign simply tell the media, "Our staff doesn't include a foreign policy adviser named Eisenstadt?"

When they call me back, I'll let you know. I've called them at least three times.

Are Gorlin and Mirvish still at it?

They were working on a character named Marnie Vander Helsing, but I discovered it before the hoax really took off, so they dropped her.

I almost hate to ask, but here goes...does Sarah Palin know that Africa is a continent?

Beats me. All I know is that Martin Eisenstadt did not leak the story. So who did?

Follow Diane Tucker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dianetucker

Comments

[Diane Tucker - Huffpost Blogger]

For more on the Eisenstadt Hoax, watch CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday (11/30) at 10 a.m.

[deosil]

This is absolutely CRAZY. Yes, EISENSTADT is a HOAX, BUT the original leak is NOT.
McCain staffers, SENIOR staffers is all we know, SAID those things about Palin. THEY maintain Palin is a DIVA and and a DOLT.
After her appearance at he Miami GOP Governor´s Conference the reports were the SAME. Not kind to Palin. Her own party thinks she´s a ZERO, HALF of them anyway.
AGAIN, EISENSTADT a hoax, ORIGINAL report stands. You can´t just read the part you want to beleive. Story number 2 did not negate story number 1, can I make any simpler for the PALIN POWER POSSE?

[cobraxus]

Eisenstadt Is Real!Sarah Palin Was The Hoax!

[Paprikapink]

"William K. Wolfrum" sets off my internet hoax radar in a big big way.

[WilliamKWolfrum]

Totally.

[learnsomething]

The stories are true. Palin did not know Africa is a continent , or such elementary things like what countries are of North America. So all this spin will not work.

[kps888]

I am certainly no fan of Palin, but knew right away that the Africa story was BS. Just look at the source! If these guys are running someone down, it's a lie, a smear, a self-serving falsehood. Just because she was the new target doesn't make their lying any easier to swallow.

[cdemackio]

I am in no way a fan of Palin but I have to say that I can see where things could have been twisted here. What I've read and heard was something about South Africa and her confusion about whether they were talking about the southern part of Africa rather than the country of South Africa. It's totally plausible and if it's been twisted I can't understand why. She already makes herself ridiculous everytime she opens her mouth, so why the need to kick her when she's down with a lie?

[ESerafina42]

How could anyone who lived through the end of apartheid know that South Africa is not a COUNTRY? I have NEVER seen or heard "South Africa" used to refer to the southern part of Africa. That would make her just as much an ignoramus as if she thought the whole continent was one country.

[meltingpot101]

Chances are damage is done....people believed it because Sarah, though likable, is clearly not the sharpest knive in the drawer.

She said way too many ignorant things to make it possible. Who does she have to blame. And this latest thing with the Turkey, well she is an official punch line.

[jillbryant]

I think Diane Tucker is wrong. I believe the quote about Africa came out from an anonymous source during the Newsweek coverage. Then, Eisenstadt (The Last Republican) decided to take credit for it and people started crediting him as the anonymous source (which was the wrong part.)

I think the quote about Palin not knowing Africa is correct. Eisenstadt as the source was the hoax.

[Takae]

Correct, but I don't believe Sarah "didn't know that Africa is a continent" because she said she wasn't sure, when she walked in a discussion, if they were referring to the "continent or country". (I think she was trying to say that she wasn't sure if they were referring to the physical Africa or the political Africa; it's still wrong, but it's kinda easy to see what she tried to say with that.)

Whatever she could mean by that, her question was twisted into a statement of not knowing it's a continent.

[sjones66]

Yes, because she's told the truth about everything else...

Oh, wait. She's glad to be innocent there. She didn't ask for anything but a Diet DrPepper. If you believe all of that, there's some land in Florida for sale I'd love to talk to you about.

This is typical GOPPER move- they had a leak, and by the way, the not knowing what Africa is was during taped debate prep. So there's proof of it out there. Locked up in a moose cabinet or the belly of the plane, with the clothes. So in order to discredit the anonymous leak, they have a fake name take credit for it and then discredit the story with. It's not the first time or the last time they'll use this move. I'm surprised people are still falling for it.

[ESerafina42]

It evidently isn't easy to see what she was trying to say, since cdemackio has a completely different interpretation.

[Diane Tucker - Huffpost Blogger]

Actually, you and I are in agreement. Fox News reported the quote from an anonymous source, and then the fake "Eisenstadt" character stepped forward to take credit for it. MSNBC then quoted Eisenstadt directly, without vetting him. Eisenstadt as the McCain camp source is the hoax.

Thanks for reading!

[dentuso]

Something stinks in the State of Denmark...

When she brought it up, she was quite specific about when the mix-up happened: she recollected that it was in regards to an answer she gave during the mock debates in AZ.

So if it didn't happen, how could she recall when it "didn't happen"?

[Takae]

The article didn't state that it didn't happen, just that it didn't come from a specifically named source.

[beantowner]

I don't blame anyone for believing the story. Palin proved her extreme density and ignorance every time she opened her mouth. And so it goes, and goes, and goes...

[mapleaforever]

The undeniable fact is that Palin presents herself in such a manner that this story was plausible, hence the traction.

[aquarius2001]

But when asked about it, Sara said that it was a conversation "taken out of context". So there obvious was some truth to this.

[DeniseD]

I agree. She also said something about "the continent vesus the country". News flash Sarah! There is no country named Africa!

[andyg]

south africa.

[JiminNC]

Nice play - however it was a McCain adviser (probably from the Romney camp) that initially leaked the story, which was later attributed to the fake name to create just this confusion. Palin confirmed her ignorance when interviewed, making a statement that she was unsure whether they meant the country or the continent. She Didn't Know! Period.

[Doofus]

Given what people know, or rather, don't know about world geography,
it's plausible that SP just does NOT know details. McCain could not keep
various facts straight (Czechoslovakia is no more, for example). Given the
general level of ignorance (as revealed, say, by Jay Leno), what would you
expect?

'Theoretical' Palin World View:

North America: Canada, US, NY?
South America: Mexico, Brazil & the rest.
Europe: England, France, Italy, other places.
Asia: Russia, Japan, China & other countries maybe.
Oceania: That's a joke, right?
Africa: Africa

Don't know that this is true, don't know that it isn't.
The world may be 6000 years old, maybe it isn't.