© facebookPsychopath: Tom MacMaster, 40, an American studying in Scotland, admits he made up a lesbian blogger to assist US propaganda against the Syrian government
Tom MacMaster, a student at the University of Edinburgh, wrote an apology on the blog today, confessing that the entire thing was a hoax.
His admission came after days of questioning and pressure by suspicious readers who did not buy the story that 'blogger' Amina Arraf, a lesbian Syrian-American living in Damascus, had been arrested.
In his post today MacMaster, writing from Istanbul in Turkey where he is on holiday with his wife Britta Froelicher, admitted his narrative was fictional.
But he insisted the blog, popular with thousands around the world, 'created an important voice for issues I feel strongly about'.
He claimed he had never expected so much attention.
MacMaster, 40, comes from Georgia and is studying for a masters degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
He is a Middle East peace activist and says he wrote the fictionalized account of a gay woman in Syria to illustrate the situation for a Western audience.
The admission is likely to kick off debates about the truthfulness of blogs, after the invented woman's story touched a nerve with so many people around the world.
© facebookInspired outrage: The fake blog, part of the US/UK governments' propaganda efforts in the run up to carpet bombing Syria, garnered widespread support around the world
On Tuesday, a blog post at the 'Gay Girl in Damascus' site written by the woman's 'cousin,' using the name Rania Ismail, said she had been detained in Damascus after weeks on the run.
It said she was last seen Monday being bundled into a car by three men in civilian clothes as she was on her way to meet other activists.
Ismail said a friend accompanying her was nearby and saw what happened.
The Associated Press reported her disappearance, which was confirmed by an activist in Damascus.
A reporter for the news agency, who maintained a month-long email correspondence with Arraf, said he found the writer seemed very much like a woman in the midst of the violent change gripping Syria.
The blogger spoke about friends in Damascus, and outlined worries about her father and hopes for the future of her country.
During an interview she gave in April, Arraf wrote: 'I've been trying to write a slightly fictionalised autobiography for some time (fictionalised as in other people have their names changed) and when the Arab revolutions began, I realised I wanted to get my voice out there.
© facebookApologizes: Tom MacMaster apologizes for the hoax but insists he "did it for the good of the people of Syria" - no doubt ordinary Syrians will make Tom a national hero for helping to pave the way for their destruction.
'The force of events has meant that my blog is more about events than anything else right now.'
But the story starting unravelling quickly after a woman in Britain named Jelena Lecic said the photos on the Facebook account of Amina Arraf were actually of her.
Miss Lecic said she first learned her photo was being used when it was linked to in an article about Arraf in the Guardian newspaper.
In the days that followed bloggers and journalists began to question the identity of Arraf.
Reports in the U.S. suggested that Arraf had been sending emails from a computer with an Edinburgh IP address.
In Arraf's blog posts, she spoke of plans to study at Edinburgh University.
American blogger Paula Brooks said she started communicating with Arraf via email in February but became suspicious about her identity when she saw the Edinburgh IP address.
Arraf reportedly told Miss Brooks she occasionally used proxy web addresses to protect her safety in Syria.
In finally admitting that Arraf doesn't exist, McMasters' post on Sunday was titled 'Apology to readers.'
© AlamyMr MacMaster is a student at the University of Edinburgh
He wrote: 'I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground.
'I do not believe that I have harmed anyone - I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.
'I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in thıs year of revolutions. The events there are beıng shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.
Comment: Yes, I lied through my teeth, but don't ever doubt that your government and faithful mainstream media are telling you anything less than the gold-plated truth about what's really happening in Syria!
Excuse us while we...
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'This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism.
'However, I have been deeply touched by the reactions of readers.'
© BBCDanger: Jelena Lecic told BBC Newsnight the hoax put her at risk
© PentagonGay girl in Damascus: The blog attracted much attention, and calls for the release of the woman... who was never really kidnapped. No, she was used by the same terrorists who bombed Libya after lying to us about Ghaddafi's alleged crimes against humanity.
Reader Comments
He was only trying to "illuminate them" through the Scottish Write--?!! Who else is being "Illuminated" through the Scottish Rite? Bet he makes the 33rd for this! What was that about hiding in the open?
"The Associated Press reported her disappearance, which was confirmed by an activist in Damascus"
Brilliant fact checking by the AP. Ooh well, not surprised. They lie with the best of them.
Seems the CIA now has permission to fly their drones over Yemen to support our 'friend' there, even as his own tribe and people reject him. Seems this could end up being the new pattern of change through revolution; first we create a new regime thru our CIA colored revolutions, then the people reject it for one of their own, despite our continued attempts to 'have our way'.
Now aren't we given enough proof that mainstream media work in tandem with certain bloggers to obfuscate. Isn't there enough evidence to show that the mainstream media just can not be trusted?
Yes, pass the sick bag this way too....
You will have to make do with your purse or wallet.
That said, I was thinking that perhaps these lesbian bloggers would gain as much popularity as all the radical islamists out there who have gained so much publicity in our western media with their outrageous stunts such as being suicide bombers and the like. It does seem that everywhere our intel services go, so too do these troublemakers. It is almost as if they are given free airfare to arrive on time for the show.
What a wonderful world!