Rosie Hardy is a 19 year-old photographer from Derbyshire, UK. Having first got into photography at age 16, she built a large following on flickr. She detailed her romance and ultimate breakup with another photographer through her photos. As early as 2008 there was suspicion that her romance and photography skills were more than just raw talent, drawing comparisons between Rosie and Lonelygirl15. An MSNBC profile of her relationship raised questions about the veracity of her relationship with then-boyfriend Aaron Nace, who she moved to the US to be with before ultimately returning to England. She was accused of plagiarizing many of the concepts of her photos, for which she apologized. She has regular interactions with her fans and is still featured on photography websites.
posted by achmorrison on May 7, 2010 - 49 comments

They use complicated words here. I will look those up in the dictionary later on... A New Zealand filmmaker responds to the fakeness of the Poor Pluto episode in the lonelygirl15 saga by filming a ten-year-old girl let loose with a microphone in the Govett-Brewster art gallery. Her spontaneous reactions to the Wind Wand and other kinetic sculptures by Len Lye ("sounds like my old Barbie car") and Tony Nicholls ("It's connected to those little hinge-y thingies") manage to take the piss out of both modern art and the lonelygirl15 phenomenon simultaneously.
posted by jonp72 on Apr 12, 2007 - 24 comments

It's official. Lonelygirl15 of YouTube fame is fake - an elaborate narrative created via a Hollywood talent agency. More details of how the plot came apart here. Previously discussed here.
posted by zaebiz on Sep 8, 2006 - 106 comments

One of the most famous characters on youtube is lonelygirl15 (this link being the most comprehensive summary of her story I've seen). Virginia Hefferton of the NY Times is one of the countless people trying to unravel the mystery of whether her video blogs are the ramblings of a cute homeschooled girl and her nerdy crush, or part of a larger marketing campaign.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Aug 27, 2006 - 90 comments