Hoax or Confession
September 1, 2013 5:36 PM   Subscribe

The first postcard on today's Postsecret is disturbing. (TW: murder, abuse) The text reads "I told everyone that she dumped me, but I dumped her (body)", along with a picture taken from Google Maps. It was determined that the location was likely Wooded Island in Chicago, IL. A search was made, though nothing was found. However, as a commenter on Dianna E. Anderson's blog posting about this points out, the postmark reads 2008. Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret has said he didn't go to the police, and instead sees this as a free-speech issue.

As Ms. Anderson's blog post is a great read as well about the implications for women reading his original post, and about how, in response to Frank's claim that sharing postcards like this one "reminds women that they are much more likely to be hurt on a date with someone they know than a complete stranger" that women are very aware and do not need such a "reminder".

Did Frank go too far on posting this one? Is it a hoax? Why did he sit on it for so long without turning it over to the police?
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me (60 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
holy crap, turn it over to the police instantly. someone was claiming to have murdered someone. (or a dog, i guess). Of course it's probably BS, but still.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 5:45 PM on September 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


I've previously accepted Postsecret as one of those once-interesting, now-wanky things that are just part of people's obsession with putting their life's shitty underwear on display, but this is pretty ugly.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:45 PM on September 1, 2013 [23 favorites]


Wow, what a weird story that keeps getting weirder. I read PostSecret every week because I'm nosy. I saw it this morning and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then reading all the fallout on Twitter. Then reading all this stuff just now. Frank's email back-and-forth with Dianna E. Anderson was just bizarre. "Can you send it to me again/Can I post your comments without your name.." I think he generally means well but he really screwed this one up. I think he didn't know what he was getting into with this whole project and definitely not with this card.
posted by bleep at 5:47 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


And good lord, don't put it on your stupid blog. If it indeed from 2008, he obviously curates the postings and edits out a bunch of stuff and promotes others. It's not like he is just some conduit. Gross.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 5:50 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


Frank's judgement was off: he should have notified the police. He receives a lot of postcards, so quite a bit of time could have passed before he read it, but he should have done it regardless.
On the other end, without the net help, the police could still be trying to identify the location.
posted by francesca too at 5:59 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I've always figured that the vast majority of stuff on postsecret is made up.
posted by catwash at 6:01 PM on September 1, 2013 [48 favorites]


I saw that this morning and thought: this is the beginning of the end for PostSecret, whether real or hoax. (I hope it's a hoax.)
posted by tzikeh at 6:02 PM on September 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


Frank's response to her request for permission to repost his email just makes it worse, IMO:
I have posted the parts of your message that address the first secret on the blog. If for any reason you want me to remove your thoughts just email me and I will take them down.…I am uncomfortable with you quoting anything I have sent you but because I have posted your comments I will not ask you not to post mine. I would prefer we have an open conversation though.
It also raises questions in my mind at least about whether he really understands consent. I mean, to reply to "may I quote you?" with "I've publicly reposted your non-public email without asking you, but I wish you wouldn't repost mine" is strikingly tone-deaf.
posted by Lexica at 6:03 PM on September 1, 2013 [27 favorites]


"I hope people will judge PostSecret by the whole of the project, not just one card," Warren said.

You mean as twee, tiresome, and well past its prime?

Can you send my email back so I can review it before you post any of it. Like all of us, sometimes I type fast and want to be sure that nothing will be misunderstood in this heated environment.

. . . what?

What a creeper for posting that.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:03 PM on September 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


PS seems to have drifted into the realm of fake / snowflake / 1st world problem "secrets" (e.g. "I walk across campus so that I can poop in the dorm with the nice bathrooms") - the cynic in me is guessing that this is either A) fake or B) a stunt to win back a dwindling audience. Maybe one that ran off the rails.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:08 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


PostSecret has long ago jumped the shark... this is its sharknado.

Seriously, it strikes me as a "how can I remind people it still exists with free publicity" stunt, like the NSA t-shirt guy. I guess our collective ability to filter out total BS died when Miley tweaked.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:10 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret has said he didn't go to the police, and instead sees this as a free-speech issue.

I pretty much can't see the keyboard through the haze of red from my anger.
posted by crossoverman at 6:15 PM on September 1, 2013 [14 favorites]


I've always thought that post secret was a great idea qua great idea. It never needed any kind of heady justifications for its quality. It just so happens that it was a great idea thought up by Frank Warren, a marginal dodo who tries to justify it as something deeper than it is -- voyeurism.

But like all great ideas, they need to change and grow to remain interesting, something postsecret has never done. I've also long had my suspicion that he writes the lions share of them, because the saminess in style, secrets, even handwriting, becomes hard to ignore after a while.

This was the final nail in a big way. It was gross to post it in the first place. He should have tried to handle it as little as possible and pass along to the police. It was double ugly to say "hey reddit!! You guys are known for showing restraint and always getting the right guy! Can you help solve this?" (Yes -- I'm paraphrasing).

But the grossest part was after getting objections, he tried to justify it by saying it was a reminder for women about domestic violence. Guess what, dickhead? Women don't need to be reminded of the threats they endure on a daily basis, especially from your mansplaining ass.

The whole thing felt like a desperate grab for views, and when it blew up in his face, he doubled down. I sincerely hope it's a hoax, but that doesn't negate the inherent failure of ethics on his part. I really think he needs to atone for this one in a big and public way, and he doesn't seem to event quite realize why people are upset.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 6:18 PM on September 1, 2013 [42 favorites]


I have always assumed that Frank Warren makes considerably more than half the postcards himself. I don't see any reason, with this, to change that assumption.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:21 PM on September 1, 2013 [6 favorites]


My mind is now blown by the revelation that he makes the postcards himself. I'm sure there's enough attention-starved college kids who send in postcards by the ton.
posted by bleep at 6:25 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Guess what, dickhead? Women don't need to be reminded of the threats they endure on a daily basis...

Very much this.
posted by thesmallmachine at 6:25 PM on September 1, 2013 [9 favorites]


There is some weirdness in the fact that I googled "post secret fake" and this was one of the results.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:37 PM on September 1, 2013


Yes, the only way Frank's responses make sense to me are if he knows this is a hoax. If he believes it's genuine and he still sat on it for five years/didn't contact the police, there are no words.

Well, there are words. Not very nice ones though.
posted by Georgina at 6:41 PM on September 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


On the one hand, my very first response on seeing it was less to feel threatened than to feel pissed off that he's posting obvious fakes now just to get attention or something.

On the other hand, I don't fault anybody else for reacting that way and it was a terrible idea in any case.

Neither of these hands seems to come up well for Frank.

I still sort of like it, but it seems like over time there have been increasing numbers of 'secrets' that don't ring true. Although I never figured he made them himself, more that I figured a lot of them were bored college students who wanted to see themselves published somewhere. Fewer and fewer that seem to be the real words of someone who needs to be heard. This kind of stunt only ensures that this is only bound to get worse.
posted by Sequence at 6:44 PM on September 1, 2013


Someone on GOMI found a link to an unsolved 1985 murder & sexual assault in the same area pictured in the secret.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:51 PM on September 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


Wow, I had forgotten about PostSecret long ago. I stopped reading it after I hit one too many "I eat my boogers!" cards. That was a very long time ago.

If it's real, then not going to the police immediately makes him a terrible person.

If it's fake, then coming up with this idea for a fake secret makes him a terrible person.

Either way, it's long past time this thing died.
posted by edheil at 6:54 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I saw it this morning, soooo creepy. It left a really bad taste.

I feel Frank deserves the blowback he's getting. He clearly curates what he posts. I am truly shocked he never reported this to the police.
posted by annsunny at 6:59 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Can you send my email back so I can review it before you post any of it.

Emails aren't postcards. Has he forgotten that he should have a copy in the "sent" folder of whatever email thing he uses?

I don't know why this in particular is hitting my "are you kidding me" bone. I guess because my "hey women here is a reminder that you are always in danger, in case you forgot" bone is all wore out.
posted by rtha at 7:03 PM on September 1, 2013 [9 favorites]


oneswellfoop: "PostSecret has long ago jumped the shark... this is its sharknado.

Seriously, it strikes me as a "how can I remind people it still exists with free publicity" stunt, like the NSA t-shirt guy. I guess our collective ability to filter out total BS died when Miley tweaked.
"

DAMN IT!

THAT IS THE FINAL STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL THAT WENT THROUGH A NEEDLE'S EYE'S BACK!

I have been fighting not to see Sharknado, but now I must. You, you, you...PEOPLE...have worn me down. I can't stand it off any longer.
posted by Samizdata at 7:28 PM on September 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


And my threat to watch it is NOT a hoax.

Now to get a PostSecret done on it and sent in.
posted by Samizdata at 7:31 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


When did he say it was a free speech statement? I need to know
posted by oceanjesse at 7:40 PM on September 1, 2013


Yes, postsecret and I are done; any time you follow process 'we post secrets!' at the expense of people 'seriously, someone could be dead and missing', something fundamental has been lost from your soul.

Why is Warren so concerned about women in general understanding that they can be harmed (like they don't know), and yet so unconcerned about the one actual woman who possibly has been harmed?

Invoking his own daughter to explain his concern in getting out a 'message' rather than empathizing that if there was someone actually harmed, she had parents, who probably aren't interested in their daughter being seen as his contribution to an ABC after school special message, but as an actual missing person.

Ugh, if I was his actual daughter I would just want to shake some sense into him.
posted by anitanita at 7:46 PM on September 1, 2013 [12 favorites]


The best hoaxes and the most persistant rumors ride a wave of incredulity and fear. The "getting shot at for flashing your headlights at an oncoming car who has forgotton to turn theirs on" rumor comes to mind.
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail
in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
This incident is either an extremely tastless hoax meant to generate pageviews or the worst thing ever. I'm going with the former.

Miley may indeed tweak but I think twerk is the word you were looking for.
posted by vapidave at 7:46 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


He mentions it in the email to Dianna E. Anderson linked on her blogpost.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 7:46 PM on September 1, 2013


All I know about Postsecret is that when the wrong person sends you this Postsecret image at the wrong time in both of your lives, you're gonna have a crappy day.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:48 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


Bwithh: "Also, I predict there will be some kind of storyline influenced by this in the next season of The Good Wife."

Naaaaaaah. Some Dick Wolf Law and Order spin off.

Ripped from today's headlines, dotchaknow.
posted by Samizdata at 8:03 PM on September 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


I didn't notice that she linked to the postsecret post the first time I read it, but the exchange makes much more sense now, thanks.

Him linking to his TED-talk-about-future-collaborations-with-postsecret during his fauxpology about DV triggers was really really bad and just ugh, who are you?
posted by oceanjesse at 8:09 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


My mind's a little blown by the number of people who think Warren made it up and are criticizing him for not forwarding it to the police.
posted by cribcage at 8:15 PM on September 1, 2013 [13 favorites]


All this time I've been under the impression that PostSecret was a work of fiction. Now you are telling me its real? NFW BS.
posted by humanfont at 8:25 PM on September 1, 2013


Wow, I am impressed with the cynicism levels in this thread.

It's never once crossed my mind that Warren makes up postcards; maybe it's me being naïve, but I would think there are enough humans out there wanting to express themselves anonymously in such a fashion as to keep Warren flooded with submissions for a very, very long time. I am not deluded enough to believe that every submission is 100% true, however.

This instance is troubling and I don't know what he was thinking. It's not as if something similar hasn't happened before. He definitely should have brought that to the attention of the authorities as soon as he knew of its existence. His "free speech" and "warning about violence against women" excuses are definitely weak; I suspect they're actually more along the lines of "protecting the sanctity of the project" and "wants to avoid some sort of chilling effect on submissions by turning this over." Ugh.
posted by m0nm0n at 8:31 PM on September 1, 2013 [13 favorites]


If it's a hoax, did he fabricate the postmark, too? If he did, I'd think you could do some forensics on it to see if it's legit or not, and if not, call the bluff. If he didn't make up the postmark, and it's really dated 2008, that's a really long time to sit on a hoax before making it public, assuming that he would have mailed it to himself back then.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:49 PM on September 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


He will likely be getting a visit from the FBI now. They followed up on that guy who confessed to killing his sisters's boyfriend in damn meme, they are going to follow up in this.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:53 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I had seen PostSecret a few years back when it was on display at the gallery. (I think I was really there for a Warhol display. I remember because there was a "15 minutes of fame" cork-board for people to bring in their own drawings if they really wanted to be in an art gallery and it struck me as the same dynamic at work. )

There was kind of a sameness to the secrets but I had just figured that the people who sent in cards were imitating what they saw.
posted by RobotHero at 8:56 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'm hoping it's a hoax, but if it is I doubt it is one perpetrated by Warren. In any case, I really don't think there is any good reason to not forward it directly to the cops.

There is certainly no good reason I can think of to publish it.
posted by misfish at 9:21 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


He wanted to let the womenz know that people sometimes kill their partners and dump their bodies, you know, as a public service. Just getting that message out there. It is good to know.
posted by bleep at 9:26 PM on September 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


God this disgustingly mythologizes or maybe the more apt word is romanticizes? domestic violence. How truly awful and bizarre regardless of whether it's true or not. I can think of no good reason to publish this. This idiot doesn't understand free speech in the slightest and makes a mockery of it.

If it's true then I hope this can serve as a key piece of evidence at the trial that puts this person away for a very long time.
posted by whoaali at 9:29 PM on September 1, 2013


Anyway, the "free speech" thing is bullshit. Nobody is stopping anybody from doing their free speeching, it's just if you (potentially) admit to something criminal then there's a good chance there will be repercussions. There's no PostSecret-patient confidentiality agreement.

I hope this guy has destroyed all the child/animal porn PostSecrets he's no doubt received, because when the FBI visits him there's gonna be a pretty serious shitstorm.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:50 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


PostSecret has long ago jumped the shark... this is its sharknado.

I downloaded that the other night because everybody was all "lol sharknado!" but could only manage five minutes, it was legitimately terrible with no redeeming features at all. That is my PostSecret.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:52 PM on September 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


Nth-ing that he should have gone directly to the police as soon as he saw this (which may not have been right away).

I think most of Post Secret consists of fakes (made by the people who submit them, not by Warren). The site basically seems to invite people to make up "confessions" about hot-button issues and present them in the house style. (Part of the reason PS looks so dated nowadays is that the house style - lots of collage with 1950s pulp cover art, fashion mags, and bits of newspaper type- was fashionable when it launched and isn't so much now.)

The problem is that, even though probably 90% of the cards are "art projects", there's no way that anyone can ever be 100% sure that any one card is not a real confession. Even a small chance that this card was a murder confession should have lead to careful handling and an immediate visit to the police.

It's also a little frightening to think about how many probably-fake-but-you-can't-know pleas for help from people in trouble Warren might be sitting on. If he really does weed out most of what he gets, what else hasn't gone to the police?
posted by Wylla at 9:52 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I guess our collective ability to filter out total BS died when Miley tweaked.

Tweaking might cause twerking, but it has yet to be proved.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:56 PM on September 1, 2013


Mod note: Comment deleted. People who want to chat about Sharknado, and/or random TV shows, maybe take it to Mefi Chat, or email? Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:15 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


has frank explicitly said what happened anywhere? if we're going to speculate, one theory could be that he did in fact share the postcard with the police, and it was declared a hoax years ago, but not made public.
posted by cupcake1337 at 10:21 PM on September 1, 2013


The last link states that Warren said he had not contacted the police.
posted by misfish at 10:37 PM on September 1, 2013


For a man who has spent so many years sifting through postcards, he's probably been totally desensitized to what people will send in the mail.

I can totally empathize with his response being "nah, just some kid" and chucking it into a pile.
posted by pmv at 10:59 PM on September 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


I really, really hope this is just a prank cum hoax cum art project, but even if it is, it's in incredibly poor taste given the South Side of Chicago's history with serial killers.
posted by dhartung at 11:25 PM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


This seems obviously fake to me. Either by Warren or some jerk trying to be edgy. Either way its poorly done and shouldn't have been posted.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:39 AM on September 2, 2013


I was done with PS when so many of the "secrets" were about PS itself. That was, I dunno, a few years ago. It was one of those things I was hesitant to delete from my RSS feed, but once I did, I pretty much never really thought about it again.
posted by Legomancer at 7:08 AM on September 2, 2013


I deleted PS from my feed last night. It stopped seriously engaging me months or years ago, but with one post a week, I could skim or scroll past. But this is too much. I can't imagine I will miss it.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:41 AM on September 2, 2013


Huh. I had sort of assumed he took shit like that to the cops. Sort of along the lines of the antisuicide stuff on the web site, but for externally directed violence. (I don't have PS in my RSS feed, but I do check in on it occasionally.)
posted by rmd1023 at 8:02 AM on September 2, 2013


To everybody who's vowing to delete PS, it's time for a reality check: Frank Warren is benefitting immensely from the publicity, more so than ever before in his attention-whoring, publicity garnering career on the site.

He's got the best gig on the web right now. Unlike the rest of us, who need to create content for facebook, twitter and blogs, the content gets sent to him, and his job is simply to riffle through it from time to time. What's more, for some bizarre reason, he gets to violate a sacrosanct rule that dates from the earliest days of the Internet, back when Star Wars boy was filming his videos--web sites that don't update daily or hourly will fail. Frank's site updates new content no more than once a week; from Monday through Friday, it's essentially a repository of stale, dead content. Yet he gets away with this. And publishes a book. And gives talks. And gets free publicity from stupid things like this.

The irony is enough to make one's head blow up.
posted by Gordion Knott at 8:20 AM on September 2, 2013


I'd never heard of his site before, and as soon as I saw his "free speech" BS excuse, I did not click through. He has never gotten views from me, for at least one. Also, that "web sites that don't update daily or hourly will fail" is not a sacrosanct rule from the earliest days of the Internet. The earliest days of the Internet had no websites.

Shame he didn't use "free speech" to speak to a police officer or express how MEN could stand to gain awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence, by, say, directing his precious page viewers to healthy communication tips, interpersonal skills, domestic violence prevention, that sort of thing. Instead we get "hey women, look, a woman maybe died! Be careful!" WTFF (flipping fuck).
posted by fraula at 8:41 AM on September 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Christ, what an asshole.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2013


I downloaded that the other night because everybody was all "lol sharknado!" but could only manage five minutes, it was legitimately terrible with no redeeming features at all. That is my PostSecret.

Only 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
posted by SpacemanStix at 2:37 PM on September 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Of course BossSecret didn't go to the police. 90% of those things are fake; I best half of those are written at the PostSecret head office.
posted by Renoroc at 3:59 PM on September 2, 2013


In certain academic circles, there is a somewhat obscure name for this phenomenon. It's called "aiding and abetting."
posted by duffell at 1:43 PM on September 6, 2013


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