MetaFilter posts tagged with forgery

Smoking Gun scoops the L.A. Times

mecran01 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:28:42 -0800

Then again, maybe Puff Daddy wasn't involved in the shooting of Tupac.
It looks like the L.A. Times' March 17th story drew upon forged FBI reports created with a prison typewriter by James Sabatino. The Times is now conducting an internal review. The con man, James Sabatino, 31, has long sought to insinuate himself, after the fact, in a series of important hip-hop events, from Shakur's shooting to the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.. In fact, however, Sabatino was little more than a rap devotee, a wildly impulsive, overweight white kid from Florida whose own father once described him in a letter to a federal judge as "a disturbed young man who needed attention like a drug." Just the fact that the Smoking Gun has undone the L.A. Times is perhaps even more interesting than the debate over who shot Tupac Shakur. Chuck Philips, author of the original story in the Times, won a Pulitzer in 1999.

Worth a thousand.

Mikey-San — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:15:26 -0800

Does something in this picture look a little . . . off? At first glance, it's just a picture of smoke from damaged buildings from the conflict in the Mideast. At second glance, it's a fine example of how not to embellish news photos.

Rockwell Forgery Uncovered

jonson — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:16:51 -0800

For years, art critics were stumped by the inconsistencies in one of Norman Rockwell's most famous paintings for the Saturday Evening Post, Breaking Home Ties. The colors weren't as vibrant as his usual work, nor did the clothes hang correctly. Perhaps most telling, the expression of wistful longing on the face of the protagonist didn't feel right. Two weeks ago, the reasons why became clear. (more inside)

Charity begins at the home office

rob511 — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:49:15 -0800

The Axis of Evil has some competition in Ohio. The Bush Administration continues to apply pressure to North Korea about its alleged counterfeiting of $100 notes: This Korean story quotes Amb. Alexander Vershbow demanding physical proof that Pyongyang has destroyed its forging equipment. On the other hand, according to the BBC, South Korea's intelligence service doubts the North is counterfeiting, although it may have done so in the past. Meanwhile, on the homefront, a 16-year-old has been fingered as the mastermind of a bogus bill ring operating out of the boy's home in North College Hill, OH. Oddly, the Cincinnati Enquirer article announcing the bust is chock-full of juicy tips for would-be home engravers: rip off old bills rather than new, don't overlook those colored fibers, and set the wash cycle for delicates. Oh, and don't even think about using scissors: it's a sure giveaway!

Free Brendan Bubar!

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 16:48:36 -0800

Free Brendan Bubar!

Archaeological forgeries

acrobat — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 03:37:26 -0800

The Cardiff Giant , The Mandelbrot Monk, and the amazing Centaur Skeleton from Volos. It's not just this administration that loves to manufacture evidence. Scientists too have often succumbed to temptation.

CBS and Internet Fisking

alethe — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 14:55:27 -0800

Forged Documents? For Shame.

mrgavins — Tue, 27 Aug 2002 07:24:56 -0800

55,000 angry emails, all because someone decided to forge an email from "pro-palestinian agitator" Francis Boyle. The best part? "the FBI didn't find anything illegal". The guy "spent nearly four days sifting through the messages, writing personal apologies to the offended".

It really is too easy...

Niahmas — Mon, 10 Dec 2001 10:45:56 -0800

Make Free Diploma and other good stuff I like the Letter the best.

crog — Thu, 17 May 2001 09:58:08 -0800

Is this an authentic Leonardo Da Vinci painting for sale on eBay? Has anyone even seen this painting that is claimed to have been done by Leonardo Da Vinci before? It looks suspicous to me: the seller does not have a rating and their website looks like it was made by a kindergardner. Is this another eBay scam or something of value?