Leunig hoax Cooke-d up

The deed has been done. The name has been named. The perpetrator of the Leunig hoax is Richard Cooke of The Chaser. Now The Chaser has definitely been hanging around the Federal Parliament for far too long - it has picked up the knack of deniability. Of not letting your right hand know what the left hand is up to. Instance, the Howard Government and the AWB. Similarly, The Chaser and Richard Cooke. Cute! Don't believe ya! In fact, that's the Cooke-d goose at the right. Clearly, there is a desire to use someone else's name one way or another. Read what he has to say about that here.

Photograph by Stephen Bacon

Published by The Sydney Morning Herald

Leunig unloved? - 3

A clarification on yesterday's post. When I posted yesterday, it was not clear that the cartoon entered in the Iranian competition was an authentic Leunig cartoon. The fraud I outlined is in the fact that someone other than Leunig - and without any authorisation or participation by him - entered the cartoon purporting to be Leunig in an accompanying note.

4.22pm
Crikey has just dropped its afternoon missive in my email which confirms that an unknown website writer for The Chaser has fessed up and apologised to Leunig. The clever dicks at The Chaser say they knew nothing about it and the proof that they knew nothing is that if they did do it or have knowledge of it is they didn't take credit for it.

"It's not a really Chaser style stunt.
We always try to claim credit for our stunts. He [the hoaxer] has spoken to Mr
Leunig and apologised. We certainly didn't intend for this to be reported on CNN
and Reuters. In general if The Chaser pull a stunt we'll be out there taking
credit for it from the word go, being the shameless publicity seekers that we
are."