In the wake of the discovery that Amina Arraf, the allegedly abducted lesbian Syrian blogger, is actually an American named Tom MacMaster living in Scotland, the Washington Post has discovered that the blogger behind the lesbian blog Lez Get Real, "Paula Brooks", is also a man:
Paula Brooks,” editor of Lez Get Real since its founding in 2008, is actually Bill Graber, 58, a retired Ohio military man and construction worker who said he had adopted his wife's identity online. Graber said she was unaware he had been using her name on his site.
As journalists tried to discern the identity of Arraf, "Brooks" was suspected as a possible candidate. Further digging elicited a confession from Graber:
Graber said he started the site to write about gay issues after seeing the mistreatment of close friends who were a lesbian couple. He said the site was “done with the best of intentions.” As a former Air Force pilot, he also said he used the site to argue in favor of the Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal.
“I didn't start this with my name because… I thought people wouldn't take it seriously, me being a straight man,” he said.
Graber fooled not only his readers, but some of his contributors, for three years.
In this account, a writer talks about being scammed…and another…
The WaPo has written a follow-up letter about these stories discussing the ease of fudging things online.
Previously…
Hoax: True Identity of Lesbian Syrian Blogger Revealed [tr]
