Skullduggery?: "Betty" and "Veronica" Fake?!?

NYT says the twitter identities of two younger girls who tipped the #bornfree crew about Weiner's internet behavior... don't exist.

One Twitter user the group observed seeking to interact with Mr. Weiner was called “Nikki Reid.” She started an online campaign to get Mr. Weiner to be her prom date at Hollywood High School in May, using the account @starchild111. Within days after Mr. Weiner started following her, a Twitter user, also using a fake name, Marianela Alicea, and pretending to be Nikki Reid’s classmate, contacted a member of the #bornfreecrew and said she had information about Mr. Weiner, but never provided any.

But there is no evidence that either girl exists. There is no Nikki Reid or Marianela Alicea enrolled at Hollywood High School. In response to requests from a reporter from the blog Mediaite, a woman claiming to be Nikki Reid’s mother provided documentation to substantiate her identity and her daughter’s identity. But records show the street address the woman provided does not list anyone named Reid as an occupant. State officials in California have confirmed that the driver’s license this woman provided to Mediaite was false, as well.

It remains unclear who is behind the fake Twitter accounts, why anyone was trying to pretend to be a 16-year-old high school girl looking for Mr. Weiner to be her prom date or why the user contacted members of the #bornfreecrew.

Actually the NYT overstates this -- what they seem to have is evidence they provided false ID to Tommy Christopher. They don't seem to have evidence the girls are actually "fake" as they mean fake to imply-- that they're some kind of operatives trying to stoke interest in the story.

Still, with their ID checking out as fake, the "completely fake" possibility is in play.

Dialing In... Calling this blog radio show to talk about B & V.

Over now, but now archived here.

posted by Ace at 11:45 PM

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