Hoax

When the New York Times – The New York Times – has to spank you for falling for a hoax you know that, even for a reporter, you’re pretty dumb.

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.

While I did report the reporting of the outrageous Palin claims, I was at least skeptical. Even if this wasn’t really a McCain advisor, the campaign comes off as a bunch of losers for not defending her – or debunking the hoax themselves.