Scam within a scam

IT was classic yarn about how quick we are to swallow complete bollocks. "Pssst! Have you heard the one about Captain Cook and his three wives?" read the story.

IT was classic yarn about how quick we are to swallow complete bollocks. "Pssst! Have you heard the one about Captain Cook and his three wives?" read the story.

"What about cricket legend Richie Benaud's Senate career? Many Australians have apparently heard of both, according to a report by social research company the Levitt Institute. They blame the internet and its plethora of unsourced and unverified information for such gullibility." The study, Deception Detection Across Australian Populations, found Sydneysiders were the most naive and the story -- originally an Australian Associated Press exclusive -- was picked up by websites across the nation. It was only yesterday that AAP realised it had been had. The Levitt Institute, founded by Dr Carl Varnsen, whose biography is available on Wikipedia, doesn't exist. Neither does Dr Carl. Websites News.com.au, Ninemsn.com.au, Bigpondnews.com and WA Today all fell for the hoax, merrily quoting the institute's executive Lauren Kennedy. "Overseas research has in the past indicated people accept information based on whether or not it is interesting, rather than whether it is supported by evidence," Kennedy was quoted saying. When Strewth called the Levitt Institute yesterday, a young man with an abrasive manner answered. "Watch The Hungry Beast. Thank you," he said before unceremoniously hanging up. The Hungry Beast is the ABC's news and current affairs "experimental project", the latest from Andrew Denton's company Zapruder's Other Films. It premieres on ABC1 tomorrow and will reveal the full hoax, with an unexpected twist.

Game of pick a prop

DEEP in the heart of AFL territory, NRL players Jeff Lima and Adam Blair had a little scam going yesterday during Melbourne Storm's open day for the media. Victorian television and radio journalists in particular were the targets of their deception in the lead-up to Sunday's grand final against Parramatta. While the southern-based reporters know their centre-half forwards and full forwards from any AFL team, they were bemused about the two prop forwards for Melbourne. The players didn't help. Adam introduced himself as Jeff and Jeff shook hands with everyone saying he was Adam. "People just can't tell the difference so we play around with it," Blair said later. So did it work? "It always works. They get a little flustered and we've had a little fun."

No Aussie tucker

BIG banks have been accused of all sorts of atrocities in the past two years but workers at the Royal Bank of Scotland's office in London thought their bank had gone into horrible new forms of crime when they saw the latest offering at the staff canteen. "Roast Aborigines" was offered as a jacket potato filling for just pound stg. 2.30 ($4.30). One worker said he was more than a little surprised to see indigenous Australians on the menu. "It did not sound very tasty so I went for beef curry," he told The Evening Standard. A spokesman for RBS explained: "It was actually roast aubergine. We have contacted the catering company to ask them to correct the spelling."

Take a leaf from Gunns

IT'S not easy being seen to be green when you're an old growth and native forest logger. Just ask Gunns, the Tasmanian pulp mill proponent that is going to great expense to improve its image. First there was the change of logo (revealed by Strewth months ago) and website redesign. Now the company is distributing The Little Green Book: Facts about Gunns and the Environment. This 20-page booklet sets out how Gunns "looks after our forests and the environment". Tasmanians have noticed copies floating around in some cafes. Yesterday, readers of The Sydney Morning Herald received one with their newspaper. While Gunns undoubtedly deserves a wrap for some of its activities, such as conserving grasslands and funding a program to help the Tassie devil, the booklet is oddly devoid of the words "logging", "woodchips", "old growth" or "pulp mill". Nor is there any mention of Gunns' damages claims against environmentalists. Gunns says the Little Green Book's timing, as the company tries to reassure financiers and a joint venture partner for its proposed $2 billion Tamar Valley pulp mill, is purely coincidental.