Sarah Palin’s Africa Gaffe Was A Hoax

Remember the big to-doodle about Sarah Palin and Africa? According to Fox News, MSNBC and a bazillion bloggers, Palin thought Africa was a country, not a continent. Turns out it was all a hoax. Here’s a clip from the New York Times:

It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.

Now a pair of obscure filmmakers say they created Martin Eisenstadt to help them pitch a TV show based on the character.

Guess what I did when I read about this? I posted it on my site. Truly, I’m sorry and I apologize. I’m not a journalist, and I have flaming pink liberal steak running down the middle of my psyche. Biased? You betcha. Any gossip about Palin tasted delicious to me during the campaign. But that doesn’t give me the right to be less diligent. Damn.

I wondered, “How different am I than the rightwing turds who called Obama a Socialist-Islamic-Domestic Terrorist-lovin’, America-hatin’ messiah, based on the lies they read on the Internet?” Apparently I, and plenty of other people, needed a reality check.

One can hope that the culprits – the obscure filmmakers – find their great idea has propelled them head first into the nearest dog park shit box receptacle. I think that’s fair.

Still, it is important for me to set the record straight. Unlike the righty fanatics, I’m willing to realize when I’ve been had and take my lumps.

On the other hand, Sarah Palin is still a giant boob.

The filmmakers in question were trying to self-promote, went full blown a-hole by claiming to deliver a scalding ouchie on the media, and then jacked-off on their own credibility by making everyone feel stupid.

Me? I’m certainly going to be skeptical about any Palin gossip I read, grudgingly, because I still believe she’s a whack job and doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. Now I have to afford a second guess in my critical thinking process. For that I’m mad at myself, but madder at the amateur filmmakers. I’d be the first one to pinch their balls (with both hands) given the chance.

Again – I am sorry. FYI: From here on out, I’m going to stop hyper-linking news articles to appear factual or fair. I’m going to make shit up and post links that have nothing to do with content. I can promise good times, and this is the last time I will ever warn you to read this blog as satire. Nothing more or less.

Thank you for being out there.

Warmest Regards,
Mojopo

Embarrassing Toto Video - Africa