Did you hear the one about how jihadists were supposedly out to kill Madonna, based on "Internet chatter"? The story was picked up and run by low-rent UK tabloid The People. Now British blogger "Unity," well-known from his own Ministry of Truth site and the Liberal Conspiracy Web site, has found evidence that the whole thing was a con job--the second of its type, and with links to the first.
You can find the whole investigation as published here.
Unity has done quite basic-level checks that reveal postings by one or more far-right trolls on Asian Web sites, created as "bait" to produce fake news. These clowns hoped that by posting provocative statements they could rouse up some unrighteous rage about Madonna, and then use the threats they provoked as the basis of an article--for which, of course, they would get paid as well as fanning the flames of their much wished for race war.
The main culprit is said to be one Paul Ray of the English Defense League, a newish and thuggish far-right group that was recently involved in provoking a large racial confrontation/fight in central Birmingham. Apparently this sort of thing is a hobby with some of these guys, though in this case it's obvious that some are doing it for cash as well.
I thought I would share this as a reminder that trollish postings can be more than just an annoyance. They can be part of a concerted effort to foment civic unrest, increase discrimination against minority groups, and provoke violence off-line.