OMG, the Manti Teo Hoax

[BocaBum99]

Tthe

Outsmarted the media :hysterical:

You see, if people are going to envision an elaborate conspiracy theory, they should be imaginative enough to come up with a whopper. If the tables were turned and this happened to me, what I would do is what Brian Bosworth would have done. I would have had memorabilia made up, sold it in venues such as eBay and then sprung a "your on candid camera reveal on the media." Then, I would turn this into a mock of the media for not doing their job.

If this were a media hoax to get Manti T'eo votes for the Heisman, he would have been shrewed enough to pull something like that off with his co-conspirators.

As it was, Manti definitely lied. We knew that. But, his lies were meant to cover up his naievte, not for profit.

Manti T'eo is a naive kid from Hawaii. He got caught up in a practical joke that went much further than anyone hoped.

Manti will learn from this prank and become much stronger as a result.

 

[am1]

What role has Notre Dame played in this? After they knew about the hoax they still endorsed people raising money. I never against people trying to raise money but they have to be honest about it.

 

[puppymommo]

"Nerds all over the world are really upset over this story because now even the imaginary girls go for the jocks"

I heard a slightly different version: nerds can feel good about themselves because even football players have imaginary girlfriends.

Personally I don't think Manti masterminded the whole thing. I read him as a sheltered Mormon boy from Hawaii. Maybe at the start he thought she was fo' reals, then when he found out she wasn't, he was in too deep and started lying to save face, which blew up on him.

My own dd, when she was a young teen, had an online "boyfriend" for about 6 months until she found out he was really a girl. For people who are shy, finding relationships online is very appealing.

 

[BocaBum99]

What role has Notre Dame played in this? After they knew about the hoax they still endorsed people raising money. I never against people trying to raise money but they have to be honest about it.

My guess is that Notre Dame decided to keep this under wraps to prevent a really big distraction for the national championship game. As it was, it probably hurt them as it was.

 

[ace2000]

Latest on the Teo story... turns out that the voice he spent hours talking to was actually a man.

http://espn.go.com/college-football...onaiah-tuiasosopo-was-voice-talking-manti-teo

 

[glypnirsgirl]

This sounds like an elaborate episode of the mtv show Catfish. I do not understand how people get duped into believing an online virtual FB / phone relationship is real, but apparently, according to this 'reality' show, many kids nowadays do. So, I give him the benefit of doubt... He is the fool until he admits being the liar.

I have had TWO men, both over 40, who believed that they had a "real" girlfriend from facebook. Stunningly beautiful women. One of the men was telling me all about how wonderful she is and all the humanitarian work that she does. BLAH BLAH BLAH ... it was a totally made up identity using pictures of Jessica Alba. And the settings were set so no one could post on the page.

I told him it was not his girlfriend, it was Jessica Alba. Then I asked him how much money he had sent her.

He still believes that he has a girlfriend that looks just like Jessica Alba.

I don't get it.

elaine

 

[DeniseM]

I have a worse story - one of my student's mom has an internet boyfriend in Indochina. They are "engaged," and as soon as he "gets on his feet", he is moving here to marry her. My students mom is sending him $500 a month to "get on his feet." Here is the kicker - mom is on welfare....

 

[l2trade]

...
He still believes that he has a girlfriend that looks just like Jessica Alba.

I don't get it.

elaine

Exactly!

There must be some psychological reasons why victims of long term lies create fictions to perpetuate the lies even after the truth becomes well known. Manti believed in this fake girlfriend and mourned her death for so long, that his experience was 'real' even though in hindsight it wasn't.

When one believes a big lie for so long with all their heart, why do they continue to believe it, even after they are confronted with the truth? I don't get it, yet I think that is exactly what is happening here.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I have had TWO men, both over 40, who believed that they had a "real" girlfriend from facebook. Stunningly beautiful women. One of the men was telling me all about how wonderful she is and all the humanitarian work that she does. BLAH BLAH BLAH ... it was a totally made up identity using pictures of Jessica Alba. And the settings were set so no one could post on the page.

I told him it was not his girlfriend, it was Jessica Alba. Then I asked him how much money he had sent her.

He still believes that he has a girlfriend that looks just like Jessica Alba.

I don't get it.

elaine

I have a worse story - one of my student's mom has an internet boyfriend in Indochina. They are "engaged," and as soon as he "gets on his feet", he is moving here to marry her. My students mom is sending him $500 a month to "get on his feet." Here is the kicker - mom is on welfare....

Denial isn't just a river that flows through Egypt.

Those stories are any less believable than the stories that are believed by the victims of the Nigerian 411 scammers.

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Exactly!

There must be some psychological reasons why victims of long term lies create fictions to perpetuate the lies even after the truth becomes well known. Manti believed in this fake girlfriend and mourned her death for so long, that his experience was 'real' even though in hindsight it wasn't.

When one believes a big lie for so long with all their heart, why do they continue to believe it, even after they are confronted with the truth? I don't get it, yet I think that is exactly what is happening here.

According to Freud, the psychological reason is that their liars, not victims, who don't want to get caught in their lies so they continue lying. Carl Sagan the noted astronomer said "If you explore the universe you are likely to find billions and billions of liars.

 

[wauhob3]

Latest on the Teo story... turns out that the voice he spent hours talking to was actually a man.

http://espn.go.com/college-football...onaiah-tuiasosopo-was-voice-talking-manti-teo

I just listened and it certainly sounds like a girl. It does seem he was initially a victim of a hoax but he perpetuated the hoax when he found out.