High-Profile Fakes

It's been a long time since I wrote in this blog, both because I've been very busy and because I've been overwhelmed with the number of possible topics about which to write. I'm clearly just following a large-scale trend with my interest in frauds, and I cannot begin to keep up with all of the stories about them these days. However, this morning's story about the fake sign-language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial adds yet another layer to my thoughts/questions about the motivations (and brazenness) some people have for putting themselves in a spotlight regardless of consequences. I am also increasingly interested in the lack of oversight that makes these kinds of impostures possible. I see two possible reasons to pretend you speak South African sign language in order to be chosen to "interpret" at a worldwide event: you cannot pass up the chance for worldwide visibility/fame, regardless of consequences, or you'd like to somehow critique or ridicule the event itself in an extreme, public way. Neither makes much sense to me, perhaps because I fear authority, crowds, and public appearance, but ultimately the whole situation is little more than an offense to a small group of people who are already underrepresented in media and government, both an offense in the sense that someone got on a stage and prevented the deaf audience from knowing what was being said, and offensive that the organizers of the memorial allowed him to get on the stage in the first place. How do we decide what is important enough to double-check and what is either so unimportant or so uncommonly fraudulent that it can be assumed or trusted without question? Do we still all assume that most people tell the truth, or do we just not care in some cases whether they do or not?

On the Trail of an Academic Forger

I have little to add to this fascinating story except to urge you, when you need a long break from doing something else, to read it.

The Sport of Lying

This week's news events seem to demand a post, though it is often difficult to add to what's already been said by dozens of news sources by now about either Lance Armstrong's belated doping confession or Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend, but perhaps there is yet more to consider. Lance Armstrong's confession by Oprah interview to taking illegal substances in order to win seven Tour de France races is a baffling move, explained in this article as a delusional attempt to make a clean comeback in cycling. Why would any cycling association allow a man who successfully hid his illegal doping for twenty years allow him to have any association whatsoever with any sport? Certainly delusion must be involved, excessive pride that becomes delusion given enough reinforcement. Perhaps sports should not affect their spectators so much, but many have been betrayed who believed that Armstrong honestly overcame all obstacles to become the world's greatest bicyclist, and were convinced that they could, perhaps, achieve anything with hard work.

Much of the above language is sappy and sentimental, but the sentimental is what made Armstrong a millionaire. Armstrong's story led directly to celebrity, endorsements, and the wild success of his livestrong organization. Of less obvious purpose is the other big hoax story of the week, the revelation that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's deceased girlfriend never existed. Questions abound as to whether Te'o was complicit in fabrication of the tragic story, or was himself duped and actually in love with an internet fabrication. It is possible that the story, claiming his girlfriend and grandmother had both died within a few days or weeks of each other, helped Te'o gain national attention and eventually become a Heisman Trophy finalist, which might also answer some questions concerning why the nation is finding out about this now, only after the college football season and BCS championship game. If he was unaware of the hoax, what gain was someone else getting? Is national attention enough, especially when it is essentially anonymous? Or perhaps malicious manipulation of a semi-public figure is enough, even without national attention. I expect it will soon be revealed that Te'o helped concoct the story to help his own football career, but if not, the story is a bit more bizarre.