Guardian Monkeyed
August 28th, 2009
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Guido reports:
Seen that story everywhere about the Mayor of Baltimore condemning Chris Grayling for his referencing of The Wire?
Alex Hilton (also known as Recess Monkey) set up a fake MayorofBaltimore.org site. The fake press release was riddled with clues – the British spelling, the jokey references and of course the copyright notice at the bottom (R Monkee Esq).
The Guardian, Indy and the Labour blogosphere lapped it up without checking their sources.
Perhaps the clue was in the Website source that said the following
OK, so I'm just having a bit of fun at Chris Grayling's expense.
Sitting in the office on a hot August afternoon, I was fantasising
that I was Mayor of Baltimore and how annoyed I would be.
I hope you very quickly picked up that this was a spoof.
Didn't mean to break any laws or ethical mores - please don't
extradite me if I have unwittingly done so. Hope you appreciate the
humour, Alex Hilton, alexhilton@gmail.com - 07985 384 859
Brings a new meaning to check your sources!
Hat Tip to Guido
Baltimore’s mayor rebukes Tory Chris Grayling over Wire remark | Politics | The Guardian.
Categories: Politics Alex Hilton, Baltimore, Chris Grayling, Guardian, Guido, Independent, Recess Monkey, Wired