Fraud and Deception - The Art of the Prank

February 28, 2025

If it Looks like Bullshit and Smells like Bullshit, It’s Bullshit

Ah, the irony… “According to [San Francisco] state law, it is a misdemeanor to intentionally disrupt the business of public employees by obstructing or intimidating and then refusing to leave upon request.” Perhaps this law should be applied to the real DOGE.

SF City Hall ‘DOGE raid’ was a YouTube prank; authorities weigh whether to pursue charges, by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News, February 27, 2025

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether federal Department of Government Efficiency impersonators committed any criminal acts earlier this month when they entered City Hall and allegedly demanded access to employee computers.

On Feb. 14, three men wearing MAGA hats and DOGE shirts entered various offices at San Francisco City Hall and apparently asked employees to turn over digital information related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud.

The Great White Hoax, by Philip Kadish

Heads up! The Great White Hoax, Frauds, Forgeries, and 200 Years of Selling Racism in America, a new book by Philip Kadish, is available for pre-order and will be out in June here, here, and more.

Blurb:

“Fake news, outright political lies, a shamelessly partisan press, and the collapse of truth, civility, and shared facts, Philip Kadish argues, are nothing new. The Great White Hoax, a masterpiece of history and literary sleuthing, reveals that the era of Fox News and Donald Trump is simply a return to form. We have been here before.”

December 4, 2024

Flashback: Operation Fortitude

The heroism, courage and outrageous deception that helped the allies win WWII.

D-Day deception Operation Fortitude: The World War Two army that didn’t exist, by Taylor Downing, BBC, June 1, 2024

“When it came to planning for D-Day, the biggest amphibious operation ever launched, the need for a detailed deception plan was even greater. When discussing the invasion with Joseph Stalin at Tehran, Winston Churchill used the phrase, ‘In wartime truth is so precious that it should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’ This perfectly summed up the Allied view of deception.” Read more here.

The Army That Never Was, Taylor Downing’s new book, is available now.

September 14, 2024September 19, 2024

See Spot Run. Run Spot Run!

30 years ago, I perpetrated a media hoax called Dog Meat Soup in which, pretending to be a Korean entrepreneur, I solicited dog shelters for their unwanted dogs to be used as food for human consumption. My intent was to expose hostility and racism that permeates both the public discourse and the media’s coverage. As I expected, all hell broke loose, as gullible animal lovers spewed outrageous invectives against ALL Asians (they apparently couldn’t tell the difference between Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and others) accusing them of outrageous acts of violence against animals and telling all Asians to go back to their countries and cook their own babies.

This cultural intolerance is eerily like what’s happening now based on fake information perpetrated by politicians with an agenda, targeting immigrants and accusing them of eating family pets in Springfield Ohio. Prejudiced and biased opinions about this are dominating our news and social media platforms. Let’s not be fooled by reactionary politicians who have a political agenda to confuse and divide the public.

Check out John Tierney’s 1994 expose of the Dog Meat Soup hoax for The New York Sunday Times Magazine.

And watch the Dog Meat Soup segment of a 2003 ABC TV 20/20 interview.

September 27, 2023December 15, 2023

Take the Money and Run

Actually the paintings depict a polar bear eating marshmallows in a snow storm.

Danish artist told to repay museum €67,000 after turning in blank canvasses, by Alex Smith, BBC News, September 18, 2023

A Danish artist has been ordered to return nearly 500,000 kroner ($72,000; £58,000) to a museum after giving it two blank canvasses for a project he named Take the Money and Run.

The Kunsten Museum in Aalborg had intended for Jens Haaning to embed the banknotes in two pieces of art in 2021.

Instead, he gave it blank canvasses and then told dr.dk: “The work is that I have taken their money.”

A court has now ordered him to return the cash – but keep some for expenses.

The art project was intended as a statement on salaries in Denmark and Austria. Read the rest of this article here.