Man cuts own head off on web

A SAN FRANCISCO geek managed to convince terrorists and the international media that he had been beheaded by Islamic militants.

Benjamin Vanderford, 22, staged his own beheading to show how easy it was to fake and fool the press.

According to Reuters, the video, which appeared on a Web site used by Islamic militants, was in the same format used by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and was introduced by a headline that said it showed Zarqawi killing an American.

It was made and posted on the Web about three months ago and intended as an experiment into how quickly such items spread on the Internet. He was surprised at how long it took.

Vanderford distributed the staged video on Kazaa and other Internet peer-to-peer networks which are popular swapping forums for films, music and software. He didn't put it on any terror sites, and the terrorists seem to have done it themselves.

However, it looks like the FBI does not share his interest in the media process and is checking out if he has broken any law to see they can throw the book at him. The full story can be found here. µ

L'INQ
Wiki: Geek