Posted on 08/26/2008 7:55:14 PM PDT by jazusamo
The Internet provides vast amounts of information but it can also spread vast amounts of misinformation, or even deliberately misleading disinformation.
For more than two weeks, scarcely a day has gone by without e-mails pouring in to me, asking about columns that someone has written and brazenly spread around the Internet with my name on them.
Most of these e-mails have come from regular readers who are savvy enough to recognize columns that have a different style and substance from my own columns.
We usually think of "identity theft" as involving using someone else's name for economic fraud. But identity theft can be used for political fraud as well-- as in this case.
Creators Syndicate, the authorized distributor of my column, is investigating this situation, and it has been like trying to unravel a mystery in a detective story.
First of all, they discovered that there was a blogger on the Internet making unauthorized distributions of not only my column, but also of columns from the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Universal Press Syndicate and the Washington Post. But there was no way to contact that blogger directly.
Since the blogger who posted the recent phony column uses the facilities of Google, an e-mail was sent to Google, which brought a response from people identified only as "The Blogger Team," who declared: "We strongly believe in freedom of expression, even if a blog contains unappealing or distasteful content or presents unpopular viewpoints."
We are all against censorship but the right of free speech does not cover libel, threats or identity theft.
Creators Syndicate's attorney-- Charles Adamek of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP in Los Angeles-- pointed out in a formal reply that Google has itself created rules for people who set up blogs, and that not enforcing those rules means accepting "this blogger's activity in misappropriating Dr. Sowell's identity and passing off writings as if they were Dr. Sowell's when they are not."
That message brought another e-mail reply from the same anonymous Blogger Team, essentially repeating what had been said before: "We strongly believe in freedom of expression, even if a blog contains unappealing or distasteful content or presents unpopular viewpoints."
Finally, this situation came to the attention of Editor & Publisher magazine, the leading trade publication of the newspaper industry.
On August 15th Dave Astor of Editor & Publisher posted an account of what had happened under the title, "Blogger's 'Impersonation' of Columnist Leads to Creators-Google Tussle."
This account also said, "Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 e-mails from 'The Blogger Team' at Google indicated that the company may finally be looking into the problem. But the piece attributed to Sowell remains on the blog as of this afternoon-- Aug. 15th."
This was more than two weeks after the phony column was posted and more than ten days after Google was notified by the attorney for Creators Syndicate.
Finally, on August 18th, Dave Astor of Editor & Publisher posted another account with the headline, "Blog No Longer Posting Wrongly Attributed Sowell Piece."
What is surprising to me is that the bogus column sent out with my name on it has been spread around the Internet in a chain letter, which means that people are passing on something to others when they have no way of knowing whether it is for real or a hoax, much less whether they might get drawn into a lawsuit.
The implications of this episode reach well beyond the newspaper industry. Everyone should be concerned about Internet anarchy in which anybody can pretend to be anybody else, unless something is done to stop it.
If hoaxes like this go unchecked, who can believe anything they see on the Internet? What good would the Internet be then?
If the people who control Internet web sites do not do anything, is that not an open invitation for government to step in? And does anybody want politicians to control what can go on the Internet?
Unless, of course, it's offensive to the government of China.
Good point and so true.
Or it's links to images of Barack (Shhhh, whisper it) Hussein Obama's Certificate of Live Birth...
Gore's fault!
Thanks for the ping jaz.
A friend of mine (Gosh! I just realized as I write-almost 50 years we’ve been friends) sent me what was obviously a compendium of articles and several issues of “Random Thoughts” edited to appear as a single Dr. Sowell “Random Thoughts”.
I immediately wrote him back to advise him of what he didn’t know about Dr. Sowell. One of the most outstanding examples I discussed was that Dr. Sowell would not use language such as I observed in that edited compendium.
Other than the “Earthy” language the “editor” had unfortunately taken liberties to instill under the name of Dr. Sowell, there seemed not much damage to Dr. Sowell’s intent in what I read. I had previously read, and remembered many of the articles and issues of “Random Thoughts” to believe that.
Since that time I send him each new article, or issue of “Random Thoughts” that you “Ping” me to.
God Bless Dr. Sowell and I sincerely hope this sort of “editing” and “forwarding” will cease. Simply forwarding Dr. Sowell’s original thoughts to friends and family is all that’s necessary. Nothing need be edited.
If they ignored a cease and desist - then sue 'em. It's how anarchy is stopped in modern cultures... Go for it, Sowell.
Thanks for relating that.
I have no idea what this latest thing is about, I haven’t seen or heard what it is.
I have noticed a couple times in the past that an editor has changed a word or two in a column that people have commented on only to check the same column on another site and find it was definitely changed.
He makes a pretty good point. If the internet won’t control itself to some extent, it gives the govt an excuse to step in.
I agree and sites like google and you tube could do a better job.
Exactly. I can sympathize with Dr. Sowell. About 8 years ago someone sent out pornographic E-mails in my name. And that was just for starters. He might be very interested in my story, come to think of it. I'm glad he wrote the column. : )
btt
Thanks for posting this bizarre story. I find it hard to believe that fraudulently posing as another person and spreading libel in his name is somehow free speech. It sounds like fraud and libel.
On the other hand, the Google elites are pure expressions of Gramsciian political thinking. My guess: if the fraudulent columns had Maureen Dowd’s name on it, Google would be all over it looking for the culprit. Sowell, on the other hand, is the conservative “enemy.” Just my guess, based on observations over time.
Yes, fraud and libel is exactly what it is and I couldn’t agree more that if it was MoDo they’d be tracking the culprit down like Holmes and Watson.
I have been thinking for some time that, never before in history have so many people been so thoroughly convinced of so much information that is utterly false.
I attribute that to leftist disinformation on the Internet, and its further dissemination by useful idiots who seem actually to believe that crap.
ping
Game, Set, Match to DuncanWaring!
China, Koober, Iran, well just about any dictatorship on the planet really.
However it's another story when it comes to the first and almost last bastion of free speech on the planet!
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