USA Today falls for name prank

You would think that with all the coverage that KTVU received after announcing fictitious names that every news outlet would be checking every bit of information multiple times. USA Today did not and fell victim to Howie Felterbush.

The Australian reports USA Today was caught out in a report on protests in Florida after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin.

USA Today quoted a man who called himself "Howie Felterbush" outside the courthouse in Florida as saying "justice was rendered," he said "that's why we have trials instead of (verdicts based on) public opinion."

Felterbush was in Orlando earlier in the day and came to the courthouse to offer an opposing view. "That wasn't to be had," he said. "There was 95 percent Trayvon supporters."

The gaffe was picked up by current affairs website Deadspin and went viral before USA Today removed Mr "Felterbush" and his quotes from its report.

Fake names have long been an issue for news organizations worldwide.

Letters pages editors and photographers compiling social pages have grown used to names such as "Hugh Janus", "Phil McCracken" and "Manuel Hung" appearing on submissions and captions.

Earlier this year, a news clip from Channel 7 featuring a Bundaberg man captioned as "Jack Mehoff" also went viral.


Thanks for reading.

Regards,
Oliver Klozoff