In the
May 18, 1998 issue of
The New Republic, a story by
Stephen Glass related the tale of 15-year-old
Ian Restil, a computer hacker who broke into the web site of a "big-time software firm"
Jukt Micronics, and defaced the web site. To solve the problem, Jukt paid money to Restil through an agent,
Joe Hiert.
Glass opened his story with the paragraphs:
Ian Restil, a 15-year-old computer hacker who looks like an even more adolescent version of
Bill Gates, is throwing a tantrum. "I want more money. I want a
Miata. I want a trip to
Disney World. I want X-Man comic number one. I want a lifetime subscription to
Playboy, and throw in
Penthouse.
Show me the money!
Show me the money!"...
Across the table, executives from a
California software firm called
Jukt Micronics are listening- and trying ever so delicately to oblige. "Excuse me, sir," one of the suits says, tentatively, to the pimply teenager. "Excuse me. Pardon me for interrupting you, sir. We can arrange more money for you ..."
Except it didn't happen.
Reporters at
Forbes Online were quick to discover that Ian Restil did not exist.
Joe Hiert did not exist.
Jukt Micronics' web site was a hastily made affair on AOL, and their phone number was a cell number.
When the dust settled, the 25-year-old Glass was found to have fabricated details in 27 of the 41 stories he has written for the New Republic. As a former fact checker, Glass was able to perpetuate his hoaxes by knowing the vulnerabilities of the fact-checking system. Glass was fired from
The New Republic.
In 2003, Glass released a semi-autobiograpbical book,
The Fabulist. His story was the subject of
Shattered Glass, a 2003 film by
Billy Ray and starring
Hayden Christensen as Glass.