Faux Freepers

Stuck On Stupid ^ | 11/08/2005 | Pasco Conservative

[Quaker]

Stephen Spruiell over at National Review has an interesting article involving the Washington Post and Free Republic.com :

Earlier this year a mysterious source turned over some e-mails to a Washington Post reporter. The e-mails seemed to indicate that a man with ties to the Republican governor of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich, was spreading rumors about the governor's chief political rival on Free Republic.com. The Post wrote a series of articles about the e-mails and the man — a state employee named Joseph Steffen — resigned and apologized to the governor.

 

The Post didn't do any reporting on the source of the e-mails — someone only identified by the Free Republic screen name "MD4Bush" — but it was apparent from the nature of the e-mails that MD4Bush had entered FreeRepublic.com with the intention of engaging Steffen in a conversation about the rumors, leading him into making damaging statements in private e-mails or "Freepmails," and then turning those e-mails over to the Post.....

 

Free Republic is great conservative website.  I check the site at least twice a day for news.  I have been a "Freeper" 7 years.

Hat tip to  Michelle Malkin for the info.

 

[conservative in nyc]

MD4Bush Ping!

Legs...

(Please FReepmail me if you want on or off the MD4Bush ping list)

[facedown]

bttt

[VRWCTexan]

Great news and great post!

Please add me to the "ping" list.

[NormsRevenge]

HI Michelle!

[SE Mom]

Excellent piece...it's always fun to see them get caught in their own web..

[clyde260]

Thanks again for the pings, am following this with much interest.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You said the secret word!

[Anti-Bubba182]

Lots of "Faux Freepers" come and go. Most are just trolls, but MD4Bush was a more sinister and malignant example. Worse, he had a Washington Post reporter to aid his nefarious scheme.

It is a prime example of how one should guard their personal information online and give particular care to any clues they might leave in posting.

[conservative in nyc]

Michelle Malkin picked it up here.

Given that, I think the weather's going to be cold and damp tonight at the Washington Post and MD Democrat HQ, with a 80% chance of a Blogstorm.

[conservative in nyc]

Sorry. I messed up the html. The Michelle Malkin Link:

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003855.htm

[phatoldphart]

After reading the NRO column, I finally put the pieces together.

Thanks for the post!

[clyde260]

Yeah, pretty "windy" there!

[GOP_1900AD]

Woo hoo! Kristin's news con kicked things into high gear!

[FourtySeven]

hehe, cool. :)

[FourtySeven]

LOL

[theDentist]

Hello Michelle! Love the book!

[nopardons]

bttt

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Great job Stephen!!!