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September 12, 2009 10:20 AM   Subscribe

Net Hoax Convinces Germany of Fake U.S. Suicide Bombing Attempt All of Germany was bamboozled Thursday by a bizarre scheme that tricked the country’s main wire service into reporting an attempted suicide bombing in a California town — an attack supposedly perpetrated by a non-existent rap group called the “Berlin Boys.”

This was all planned and carried out by the makers of a soon to be released German film.

Fake TV station K-VPK TV - Now hosts "the making of".

Bluewater, California - Fake website used in the hoax.

Response from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (German)
posted by chillmost (18 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have to say -- that VPK "news anchor" is dreadful. Nearly as bad as Heather Holmes.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 10:34 AM on September 12, 2009


Germany has been stabbed in the back -- again.
posted by orthogonality at 10:41 AM on September 12, 2009


That's a pretty disgusting and tasteless thing to do on 9/11-- all I can say is that it's a good thing they didn't have the balls to try it in NY.
posted by Maias at 10:52 AM on September 12, 2009


LOL YOU BELIEVED SOMETHING BELIEVABLE WHAT A BUNCH OF MAROONS
posted by DU at 10:56 AM on September 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


CCTV to be installed in all British homes!
posted by Artw at 11:14 AM on September 12, 2009


By Friday, the German media were filled with reports mourning the DPA’s failings but lauding the audacity of Jan Henrik Stahlberg, the filmmaker who is widely thought to be behind the stunt.

Praising someone for taking advantage of an anniversary of a tragedy to fool the media to hype a movie. Yeah...I don't get Germany.
posted by Atreides at 11:14 AM on September 12, 2009


Praising someone for taking advantage of an anniversary of a tragedy to fool the media to hype a movie. Yeah...I don't get Germany.

You should have seen what they did for the guy who took advantage of the anniversary of the Versailles Treaty, and the Reichstag Fire.
posted by orthogonality at 11:19 AM on September 12, 2009 [3 favorites]


For all those who repeatedly claim that Germans have no sense of humour ... they do! (It's just horribly misguided.)
posted by mannequito at 11:24 AM on September 12, 2009


You know who else took advantage of the Reichstag Fire?
posted by DU at 11:32 AM on September 12, 2009


Wouldn't it be funny if a bunch of people phoned the police to report that the film makers had a huge stash of drugs and guns? Since they love funny so much.
posted by y6y6y6 at 11:39 AM on September 12, 2009


Also.
posted by fourcheesemac at 11:54 AM on September 12, 2009


You know who else took advantage of the Reichstag Fire?

Oh wait, that's the joke you were....nm. *sends self to camp*
posted by DU at 12:16 PM on September 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


Combined with the news reports today about the mis-reported Coast Guard incident, it makes you wonder how much of news is independently verified at all.
posted by Houstonian at 12:28 PM on September 12, 2009


All of Germany was bamboozled
I'm in germany, I've been all around Hamburg all day and I didn't even hear about this once today. a quick check among five coworkers and four friends only got clueless shoulder shrugs. either you are the one being punked or you are seriously overstating this.

the FAZ is known to be the old, stodgy, conservative paper of record. it's the behemoth. I'm not surprised they fell for it, though they hardly are "all of germany." I read the saturday editions of the FAZ, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and taz (paper, not online) today and I didn't come across anything there either. that doesn't mean I can't have missed something but it sure as hell wasn't a cover story.
posted by krautland at 4:22 PM on September 12, 2009 [3 favorites]


Who on earth decides to phone up the local sheriff's office after hearing a single news story about an event in a small town in a foreign country?
posted by eotvos at 9:19 PM on September 12, 2009


the FAZ is known to be the old, stodgy, conservative paper of record. it's the behemoth. I'm not surprised they fell for it, though they hardly are "all of germany."

You know what would be a great cover story in the FAZ? The story of how Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:24 PM on September 12, 2009


but I do have to say it's a nice self-promo piece for the pranksters.
posted by krautland at 10:25 AM on September 13, 2009


Mod note: comments removed - stop glen beck nonsense, thank you
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:43 PM on September 13, 2009


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