Becoming Paul Krugman: How A Google+ Account Tricked Twitter

by Alex Alvarez | 11:39 am, August 24th, 2011

» 21 comments

The world of media reporting is, often enough, something of a clusterf… fiasco, with media people reporting on the personal views or slip-ups or extracurricular activities of their colleagues. Those who report or present the news become newsworthy themselves, and, as such, hold a certain level of celebrity: not enough so that E! is guaranteed to cover their weddings (we can’t all be Kardashians, after all), but enough that they are ripe for satire and parody. To wit: Yesterday, Tim Carney, the Washington Examiner‘s senior political columnist, noticed that a Google+ account ostensibly belonging to economist and New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman, posted a rather controversial reaction to the earthquake that resulted in literally dozens of pencils rolling onto the floor.

“People on twitter might be joking,” Kurgman appeared to have written, “but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.”

OMG LOL BBQ, right? How could Krugman say something so insensitive and predictable? Naturally, Carney Tweeted about the post:

The problem, as Slate’s Dave Weigel points out, is that Krugman had never written such a thing. The Google+ account in question actually belongs to a recently laid-off college grad named Carlos Graterol. He explains (/defends) the post thusly:

I do not regret writing it and I hope it will enlighten many on the perverse economic views held by a Nobel winning economist writing for the New York Times who also lectures at Princeton University. While Paul Krugman did not write the above statement, he has made similar statements within the year and I would not be surprised if Paul Krugman did not in fact hold this view.

Weigel double-checked with Krugman himself, who verified that he had not written that post.

Carney has since apologized for the mix-up and explained that he’s deleting the original Tweet to avoid any further confusion.

Weigel and Carney both make an excellent point: Carney should have verified that the account in question belonged to Krugman. We’re all in agreement on that point, I think. But there’s another matter at play here: Shouldn’t companies and social media platforms like Google+ take a cue from Twitter and verify accounts purporting to belong to public figures whose ideas routinely mold or guide discussion? Should Gaterol face any sort of consequence for impersonating Krugman without identifying the account as satire?

h/t Slate and Twitter

Dave Weigel, Earthquake, Google, Paul Krugman, Tim Carney, twitter

Anonymous

This is an easy mistake for Carney to make. Krugman’s cheese has slid off his cracker, as evidenced by his advocating an alien invasion.
Anonymous

Look at that furball .

Andf he’s got a cat .
TruDat

Typical liberal communist. Anything to continue deficit spending in order to achieve the ruin of a nation.
TruDat

How cute, a pussy carrying a cat.
TruDat

How cute, a pussy carrying a cat.
Greg

“Should Gaterol face any sort of consequence for impersonating Krugman without identifying the account as satire?”

Gaterol should be dealt with using the most severe consequences available.
1. No more Gmail… straight to Hotmail with this thug.
2. Banished to the gulag known as Internet Explorer… (Shudder)
3. Remove Vuze from his desktop and make him hoof it to a brick and mortar if he wants to convert “Who Gon Stop Me” into a ring tone.

Poor Bastard. He would envy the dead.
Anonymous

There must have been dozens of us who also had your same line. You’re fast!

Speed sometimes kills, but you nailed it!
Anonymous

Hahahaha I’m sorry, that’s just too dam funny.
Ty for the LOL on a dull day
Michelle

Let’s face it, it may not have been Krugman, but it’s his sentiment. I mean he did write this on Sept. 14, 2001:

It seems almost in bad taste to talk about dollars and
cents after an act of mass murder. Nonetheless, we must ask about the
economic aftershocks from Tuesday’s horror.
These aftershocks need not be major. Ghastly as it may seem to say
this, the terror attack — like the original day of infamy, which brought
an end to the Great Depression — could even do some economic good. But
there are already ominous indications that some will see this tragedy
not as an occasion for true national unity, but as an opportunity for
political profiteering…
First, the driving force behind the economic slowdown has been a
plunge in business investment. Now, all of a sudden, we need some new
office buildings. As I’ve already indicated, the destruction isn’t big
compared with the economy, but rebuilding will generate at least some
increase in business spending.
Second, the attack opens the door to some sensible recession-fighting
measures. For the last few weeks there has been a heated debate among
liberals over whether to advocate the classic Keynesian response to
economic slowdown, a temporary burst of public spending. There were
plausible economic arguments in favor of such a move, but it was
questionable whether Congress could agree on how to spend the money in
time to be of any use — and there was also the certainty that
conservatives would refuse to accept any such move unless it were tied
to another round of irresponsible long-term tax cuts. Now it seems that
we will indeed get a quick burst of public spending, however tragic the
reasons.Never let let a crisis go to waste, eh libs?
Michelle

That was classic, and you’ll notice most of the liberal media pretended they didn’t hear it. Can you imagine the reaction if Palin or Bachmann had said it!?
Anonymous

Alex Alvarez:”verify accounts purporting to belong to
public figures whose ideas routinely mold or guide discussion?”

There’s another funny gem.
Krugman routinely shapes LAUGHS, provokes nausea…
BTW: What a repulsive looking leftwing specimen.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NWVKX2P2QBPQ6FHQHCHVIC2ALQ Fedup in Florida

That entire interview can be seen at http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/12/gps-this-sunday-krugman-calls-for-space-aliens-to-fix-u-s-economy/ the debate between Krugman and Rogoff begins at about 4 1/2 mins into the program… Krugman gets his butt squarely kicked by Rogoff who takes a much more reasoned approach to the economy… Krugman talking about building a military industrial society to fight off an invasion from outerspace… while Rogoff pointing out that we cannot afford gratitious additions to the National debt and that any rise in interest rates would be devastating and would further restrict Washingtons ability to effectively manage its budget.
http://twitter.com/Staciisa_bitch Staci Chase

It just seems like another dirty trick coming from the right wing.
http://twitter.com/Staciisa_bitch Staci Chase

It just seems like another dirty trick coming from the right wing.
Anonymous

No! Like Breitbart or that other pencil neck (Okeef’e) ? No they would never do anything like that. Where would you get such a crazy idea like that? Surely not on Fix News.
Greg

Better yet, what if a former president and beloved icon of a party had said something similar? OM Wow! That would really stick with us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chVKSY2gT00&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.facebook.com/Grumppa George C. Sievers

Possibly the so-called “liberul media” didn’t comment on it because it was an example of rallying the forces to fight a common enemy not a claim that alien’s were invading. That’s because you right wing mental midgets are not aware of the nature of the disease that is sapping American and, in fact, are part of that disease.
http://www.facebook.com/Grumppa George C. Sievers

Yup – Krugman’s ability to predict what actually happened is amazing!
http://www.facebook.com/Grumppa George C. Sievers

“…shapes laughs, provokes nausea…” among the ignorant right wing.
There, I fixed it.
What have looks to do with anything – someone named “ohshush” shouldn’t be worrying about someone else’s looks, should they?
Anonymous

Typical delusional advice dispensing liberal.
What others “should or shouldn’t” worry about is absolutely none of
your concern. Hit a nerve? ?Paul? Tough !
My orig. post above is accurate, bullseye on target i n fact.
Get a grip, try to be witty or entertaining or STFU
Anonymous

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/08/obama-campaign-email-with-criticism-of-krugman-liberal-blogs-triggers-ire-.html