Terrorism pundit accused of astroturfing extremist Jihadi message-board posts, then reporting on them

Posted by Cory Doctorow, March 20, 2009 6:50 PM | permalink

Richard sez,

For some time now, a self-proclaimed "freelance anti-terror investigator" named Glen Jenvey has been feeding stories to the media about on-line Islamic extremism, particularly in British tabloids (but also in the famous "Obsession" DVD). However, a blogger, Tim Ireland, has uncovered overwhelming evidence that Jenvey made bogus postings to Muslim discussion sites himself to create panics. Jenvey also boasts of having influenced the James Ujaama trial by releasing videos at strategic moments.
One high-profile British MP who has used his talking-points is currently in the process of repudiating him, and a number of journalists and others are possibly compromised by having relied (lazily) on his material. The link to my blog provides what I hope is a clear short introduction to the story, which highlights a lot about what's wrong with the "old" media. Regards.

Obsession Pundit Glen Jenvey in Meltdown (Thanks, Richard!)

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Discussion

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#1 posted by aldasin , March 20, 2009 7:38 PM

Message board posts aren't really newsworthy unless they are being used for a fake story by a lazy journalist with an agenda.
Who cares about what I just said?
Why am I here?
I'm so very, very lonely.

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#2 posted by freeyourcrt , March 20, 2009 9:51 PM

There is a God, or Allah, or whatever.

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#3 posted by adonai , March 20, 2009 10:32 PM

Well, old media jumped the shark sometime around Watergate...maybe it should be put out of its misery...

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#4 posted by Gilgongo , March 21, 2009 4:02 PM

Lazy journos! Whoda thunk it?

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#5 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager