Top Story: We fell for an internet hoax

February 18, 2006 10:59 AM

The top-rated Greek news channel is Alpha TV's. Tonight's second-lead story: outrage and disgust over babycage.net, a quite obvious web hoax that is even listed as one on Open Directory (and which took this Googling non-journalist about 60 seconds to discover). The breathless commentary on this "instance of American self-indulgence"? how this is a first step towards a new Orwellian society --ironic considering they are spreading disinformation through mass-media, just like Mr. Orwell predicted...
posted by costas (17 comments total)

Sorry for the parochial post --and I am not one to rage against "MSM", but this was pretty blatant, incompetent, inflammatory reporting-- and well, Metafilter is the most powerful news organization I know...
posted by costas at 11:01 AM on February 18, 2006

I'd be interested to know what they're saying but it's all greek to me.
posted by 327.ca at 11:07 AM on February 18, 2006

I can only wonder why they thought it was real.
posted by karson at 11:21 AM on February 18, 2006

I'd translate the page, but it's pointless. They are basically describing the site, what they are selling and commenting on it. In the newscast they actually commented on the "feedback" email that's up on babycage.net! It was all very funny as it was obvious (to me anyways) that it was a hoax (I' had never of the site before tonight), but then the commentary started painting America with some very broad strokes... Case in point: the story on the Web is headlined "Guantanamo for kids".

FYI, this is a very mainstream and respected newscast --apparently staffed by incompetents, on the weekends anyway.
posted by costas at 11:29 AM on February 18, 2006

If only Guantanamo were a web hoax.
posted by dhartung at 12:00 PM on February 18, 2006

If only insane Islamists wanting the Western way of life exstinguished was a web hoax.
posted by HTuttle at 12:25 PM on February 18, 2006

If only insane Islamists wanting the Western way of life exstinguished was a web hoax.

Fair and balanced.
posted by iamck at 3:03 PM on February 18, 2006

HTuttle writes "If only insane Islamists wanting the Western way of life exstinguished was a web hoax."

HTuttle's been drinking again?
posted by orthogonality at 3:12 PM on February 18, 2006

If only insane Islamists wanting the Western way of life exstinguished was a web hoax.

If only grown men acting like scared little girls was.

Sack up, you wuss.
posted by sonofsamiam at 3:16 PM on February 18, 2006

If only th ecartoon wars were a web hoax
posted by Mick at 3:48 PM on February 18, 2006

It's not so far-fetched.
posted by Otis at 4:05 PM on February 18, 2006

Man, I don't want to be around when these guys discover Bonsai kitten.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:50 AM on February 19, 2006

No self-respecting Baby Cager would ever put up a web page about it!

Jesus.

Real Baby Cagers just do everything on mail lists.

Whoa! Look at my inbox!
posted by roguescout at 2:16 AM on February 19, 2006

Thanks for that Bonsai Kitty link. I laughed my Arse off. Unfortunately my 23 lb cat is well beyond Bonsaification.
posted by Gungho at 9:06 AM on February 19, 2006

Eh, having a gullible news station be taken in by a web hoax and use it as an opportunity to rant about those awful foreigners is a long, long way from Orwellian "disinformation". Get a grip, already.
posted by hattifattener at 10:16 AM on February 19, 2006

The baby cage and bonsai kitten sites are hilariously awful! And then in mid-laughter I'm reminded of actual 'caging' abuses, legal or illegal.

I translated the Greek using this site.

Thanks for the post Costas.
posted by nickyskye at 11:27 AM on February 19, 2006

Looks like Alpha pulled the web page from the site, so for future Googlers, here's the Google cache.
posted by costas at 1:32 AM on February 21, 2006