The Iraq War is over, according to the fake New York Times! This morning a cadre of volunteers has fanned out across New York City to pass out a remarkably good, faux-copy of the Times dated July 4, 2009. They've even set up an entire website with all of the liberal fantasy headlines. Universities to be free! Bike paths to be expanded! Thomas Friedman to resign, praise the Unitarian Jesus! It's not funny like The Onion, but obviously a lot of work went into this. Now we play "Who did it?" We already know!: We have done some sleuthing based on intelligence received yesterday. First of all, this stunt needed a lot of volunteers to distribute the papers. They were rallied online, via BecauseWeWantit.org. This email went out to the collaborators last night:
TONIGHT - and especially, TOMORROW MORNING (WEDNESDAY) - a year of work involving dozens of collaborators comes to a head. Here's the schedule: ** TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY) MORNING, 7am-11am: ** Take a break in your commute to pick up materials, then distribute them on the rest of your commute. (Or if you want to come back and refill, fantastic.) Look for the white UHaul vans near: - UNION SQUARE: probably near the northwest corner of Union Square Park - COLUMBUS CIRCLE: probably on 56th St. between 8th and 9th Ave. - GRAND CENTRAL: probably on 43rd St. between Vanderbilt and Madison, near west entrance of Grand Central Station. - PENN STATION: probably on 33rd St. between 6th and 7th Ave., just NE of Penn Station Locations will be confirmed and updated by text alert (sign up at http://becausewewantit.org) and email around 7am tomorrow. ** Also, TONIGHT, 5pm-8pm (if time is tight tomorrow or you just can't wait): ** Look for a white UHaul van near the NORTHWEST CORNER OF UNION SQUARE PARK. You'll pick up the materials and KEEP THEM SECRET until TOMORROW MORNING, when you can distribute them wherever you happen to be, or on your commute. WATCH TEXT ALERTS FOR ANY LOCATION CHANGES (sign up at http://becausewewantit.org). We'll also send another email around 5pm. ** THINGS TO BRING: ** - A bag that can hold a big bundle of printed matter - as much as you can carry. Think big canvas bags, big backpacks, rolling carts, etc. - Warm clothes - Friends (or we will team you up) What will happen: Something cool! You'll receive materials and instructions when you arrive. NOTE: YOU DON'T KNOW WHO DID THIS. We want to maintain maximum mystery around this, for as long as possible - at least for a couple of days. Tomorrow morning we'll also have an online viral campaign - a quick click before you take off for work can make a big difference! Thank you again for volunteering your time and energy! See you soon, The many secret people YOU DO NOT KNOW
BUT: The email address that sent out this message was linked to the site of The Yes Men, longtime liberal prank group that has been doing things just as complex and finely tuned as this for years. The Yes Men run the Because We Want It site, through which they set up this prank. They wanted to be anonymous for a while allegedly, but too late. Well done, sirs. We hope the Times doesn't sue you for copyright violations.