Too good to check at MSNBC

NY Times:

It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.

Now a pair of obscure filmmakers say they created Martin Eisenstadt to help them pitch a TV show based on the character. But under the circumstances, why should anyone believe a word they say?

“That’s a really good question,” one of the two, Eitan Gorlin, said with a laugh.

(For what it’s worth, another reporter for The New York Times is an acquaintance of Mr. Gorlin and vouches for his identity, and Mr. Gorlin is indeed “Mr. Eisenstadt” in those videos. He and his partner in deception, Dan Mirvish, have entries on the Internet Movie Database, imdb.com. But still. ...)

They say the blame lies not with them but with shoddiness in the traditional news media and especially the blogosphere.

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Hey, PrairiePundit was not taken in by the hoax, unless this NY Times story is a hoax. My gut says the Times is probably right on this one. I tend to be suspicious of things that exist mainly in the passions of partisanship.

For example, I know several people on the right have been excited about Obama's birth certificate or lack thereof. I just don't think it is creditable that his Mom had him in Kenya or someplace other than Hawaii. I also don't think that whatever irregularities there may be with his birth certificate would prevent him from taking office. It would be a politically impossible technicality. Liberal Democrats are not removed from office on that kind of evidence.

There is much more in the story on other hoax created by these two, some of which I have seen elsewhere. They are pretty creative and they seem to play on the liberal mindset.

The story does refer to Sourcewatch as a place to go to verify the legitimacy of people in the news. That site does not appear to be a hoax.

In the meantime, liberals should take heed of the opening verse to Simon and Garfunkel's, The Boxer.

I am just a poor boy and my storys seldom told
Ive squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

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Li la li...

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I think that applies to many Democrat politicians too.