Reality Fiction hits politics
In a collision of ideas I’ve been considering recently – 1) Reality Fiction 2) The Need for Speed – the Times has an article on Martin Einstadt. Einstadt, “advisor to John McCain”, was recently identified as a Palin rumor source.
But it turns out Martin Einstadt isn’t real. He was invented by Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish, who hoped to pitch a TV show based on the character.
Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes… And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months.
Firstly, this episode calls out the inevitable ethical issues in today’s ever murky…err…ing picture of media. The race for “first” amidst an abundance of information has made fact-checking harder than ever before.
Secondly, I think it serves as proof that Reality Fiction (transmedia creativity) is a huge entertainment opportunity. Michael and Aki have done some public thinking to support this idea.
HER NATURE HIS NURTURE 