Computerworld Falls For RFID Rifle Hoax

from the fact-checking-is-a-waste-of-time dept

Last year Brian McWilliams pulled off a hoax on Computerworld, convincing a reporter that he was a terrorist hacker who had programmed the Slammer worm. When the story came out there was a lot of embarrassment all around, but it appears that Computerworld hasn't beefed up their fact checking department much. Earlier this month there was some buzz around the blog world about a rifle that would shoot RFID tags into people in order to track them. It wasn't that difficult (beyond just using a bit of common sense) to realize this was actually a hoax. However, thanks to Politech, we discover that Computerworld has fallen for the hoax completely and written up a whole story about it. I wonder how long the story will last until it's taken down. Of course, this also raises questions about where Computerworld got the story. Did they pick it up off a blog and then fail to credit them?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    dorpus, 28 Apr 2004 @ 5:35am

    Reminds me

    of a hoax a DEA agent pulled off against a Mafia kingpin. The kingpin had been shot in the butt at a New Jersey nightclub, he was in the hospital, and the DEA agent told him that they had surgically planted a listening device in his ass. The kingpin had a nervous breakdown and confessed everything.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    bah, 29 Apr 2004 @ 1:20am

    They shot themselves in the foot

    It's been taken off.
    From the Horses Mouth(TM)

    The page you are looking for is not valid.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Sydney Newman Dotson, 9 Oct 2004 @ 8:13am

    GEORGE BUSH and JOHN KERRY Mafia Connection Expose

    GEORGE BUSH and JOHN KERRY Mafia Connection Exposed Before Election in November

    Bush, JFK, LBJ, Joe Bonanno Mafia Connection Exposed in new book NO GREATER DECEPTION

    New Book NO GREATER DECEPTION is #1 Bestseller Today on 360 Websites across the globe

    Former IBM Director of Corporate Business Intelligence, Sydney Newman Dotson, is a corporate spy turned detective in " NO GREATER DECEPTION, A TRUE TEXAS STORY." The CSI Identity Theft Biography is #1 bestseller.

    Dotson's family�s friends make them anything but normal. Was it normal for Joe Bonanno to show up at their home? Just how involved was their father in the gambling and prostitution rings along the Galveston Bay? Were his connections to President George Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Lady Bird and Joe Bonanno much deeper than they seemed? Was he involved in the JFK assassination?

    "Deceased victims of identity theft cannot come back from the dead to defend themselves," says Dotson. "It leaves the victims' children to seek justice on their deceased relatives behalf.�

    "My stepmother had a brilliant scheme. She opened a number of bank accounts in my father's name. The forged signature on the checks matched the signature on the forged will she produced for my father."

    What the two sisters� forensic handwriting expert, Mrs. Higgins, discovers will send chills up and down your spine. Their lives are in danger and they may have a black widow serial killer on their hands.

    CAROLYN 101 of Donald Trump's APPRENTICE Paves the Way for Other Women to Succeed. The Woman Behind Louis Gerstner at IBM tells her true story in the #1 bestseller NO GREATER DECEPTION A True Texas Story.

    HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU authors Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo of SEX IN THE CITY became an overnight bestseller due to starring on the OPRAH WINFREY SHOW last week.

    OPRAH has made many new authors millionaires like herself by showcasing their books to her audience. Sydney Newman Dotson is standing in the wings hoping she'll be the next author invited on OPRAH'S SHOW.

    Dotson's debut book NO GREATER DECEPTION skyrocketed to #1 on Amazon and Barnes and Noble True Crime Biography Bestseller Lists. Dotson tops Ann Rule, John Glatt, James Patterson and Marion Collins.

    "Making the Top 10 Bestseller Lists is wonderful. Becoming the number one true crime biography is outstanding," says Dotson.

    �My book should appear on Oprah�s Book Club, the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller Lists shortly. It takes about a week for them to catch up with Amazon and Barnes & Noble sales rankings.�

    Despite waves of publicity and a rock-star reception at all her booksignings, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books a Million Bookstores were not prepared to meet the demand for Dotson�s true story. Customers were often told the book is "not in stock" or "not available."

    Residents in Chicago, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida and Atlanta said they called ahead to make sure the book was in stock, then nabbed a copy on Amazon or B&N.com.

    "NO GREATER DECEPTION, A TRUE TEXAS STORY" is available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com

    www.NoGreaterDeception.com

    Contact: Sydney Dotson Productions, 214-358-3080

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.