It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

NEWS: San Francisco Man Fakes Beheading Video

page: 1
0

log in

join
share:

posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 04:00 AM
link   
A video of beheading of an American in Iraq aired Saturday by a group linked to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi web site that purportedly showed an American being decapitated in Iraq was a hoax to attract attention.

 



Reuters: Web Site Shows Video of American in Iraq Beheaded

"My name is Benjamin Ford. I am from San Francisco, California," said the young man dressed in a plain beige T-shirt as he sat on a chair. "We need to leave this country right now. If we don't, everyone is gonna be killed in this way," he said.

The video then showed him being beheaded.


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.


An American, Benjamin Vanderford, reached by AP in San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend's house using fake blood




S.F. Man Says Beheading Video Is a Hoax

Vanderford, 22, said he began distributing the video on the Internet months ago in hopes of drawing attention to his one-time campaign for city supervisor. When his political aspirations waned, he thought the video would serve as social commentary.


"It was part of a stunt, but no one noticed it up until now," Vanderford said. "I did this for a couple of reasons. One is to attract attention. But two is to just make a statement on these type of videos and how easily they can be faked


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.



Related News Links:

Fox News
BBC News



[edit on 8-7-2004 by Valhall]

[edit on 8-8-2004 by Valhall]



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 05:02 AM
link   
I was wondering, seemingly out of nowhere, why we were seeing reports of the coalition not making anymore concessions to the kidnappers.

It would make sense that the government knew about the threats to this specific young man's life and again, this is another attempt at damage control- "Well, we said a week ago we weren't making anymore concessions.......".

How horrible another American has to die for what?

A Mexican stand-off?

The plan isn't working people, we need to change the program.

My condolences to this man's family.



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 05:05 AM
link   
More than 80 hostages from two dozen countries have been captured in the last four months to put pressure on governments

HELD HOSTAGE

Four Lebanese truck drivers. Kidnapped on the road between Baghdad and Ramadi, Lebanon's state-run news agency reported Aug. 6. Last heard from the day before.

Vlada Abu Ghadi, Lebanese director of the Lara construction company. Abducted July 31

Antoine Antoun, a Lebanese businessman. Abducted in Baghdad July 31.

Ali Ahmed Moussa, a Somali truck driver. In a video aired July 29, insurgents threatened to kill him if the Kuwaiti company he works for doesn't leave Iraq.

Fayez Saad al-Udwan and Ahmed Salama Hassan, Jordanian truck drivers. Kidnapped July 26. Militants threatened to kill them in 72 hours, demanding their company stop working with U.S. military.

Raad Adnan, the Iraqi general director of government-owned Al-Mansour Contracting Co. Kidnapped July 24. Former Baath party member who helped build some of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces.

Ibrahim Khamis, Salm Faiz Khamis and Jalal Awadh of Kenya; Antaryami, Tilak Raj and Sukdev Singh of India; Mohammed Ali Sanad of Egypt. Truck drivers abducted July 21. Militants threatened to behead them if Kuwaiti employer keeps doing business in Iraq and their countries do not withdraw citizens. On July 29, the group said it would kill a hostage within 24 hours if its demands were not met, but the deadline was apparently extended.

Rifat Mohammed Rifat of Canada. Prison worker. Abducted April 8.

Aban Elias, 41, Iraqi-American. Held since May 3 by group calling itself the Islamic Rage Brigade.

Ivaylo Kepov, Bulgarian truck driver. Abducted July 9, possibly killed

www.boston.com...:.shtml" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow"> A list of foreigners taken hostage in Iraq



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 05:34 AM
link   
So why don't we find these militants and kill them?

Man for the world's greatest intelligence and military force, we sure do suck with the simple things...


(Unless we're not doing anything for a reason...)



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 06:28 AM
link   
Ogrish have the video, and to me it looks totally fake. He looks like he's acting. (badly), and there is no similarity beheading videos. You don't see any beheading, just a sawing action from an angle that hides any sign of a cut.

I'm convinced it's fake.



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 07:00 AM
link   
Here is a little bit more on this:




Reuters


It was not immediately clear when the videotape, purportedly by Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad Group, was made or what was meant by an offer for prisoner exchange. It was also impossible to verify its authenticity.


The American gave his name and address before appealing to the United States to leave Iraq.


The name and address appeared to match a Benjamin Vanderford, who has a U.S. Web site and who resembles the man in the militant video. He is described on the Vanderford site as a 22-year-old independent candidate for district supervisor in San Francisco. He is also a musician and video-game programer.

His political manifesto on the Web site addresses local issues such as tenants' rights, the homeless and government transparency, with no mention of Iraq.


A call to the phone number listed on the site was answered by a taped voice message of a man identifying himself as Ben Vanderford.



Please visit the link provided for the complete story.


The video did not show the group's flag, or masked militants. The American was wearing trousers and a T-shirt and not an orange jumpsuit as worn by previous hostages of Zarqawi's group.


[edit on 7-8-2004 by Riwka]



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 07:21 AM
link   
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Its a hoax made in the US by Benjamin Vanderford and friends.

This hoax was quickly cleared thanks to people being able to track the origins of the tape so fast.

Now the question cames, did the beheading look real enough? Done by 2 teens in the US? How good can US Psyops troops make fake beheadings like this then? Opens up a whole new line of questioning towards the validity of the previous beheadings.

[edit on 7-8-2004 by thematrix]



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 07:51 AM
link   
How it comes that video was found on an Islamist website?



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 09:16 AM
link   
It could have been posted there by anybody.

In the past these videos have appeared as links bulletin boards so it's possible these guys just joined up, hosted the video on some free space somewhere, and posted the link.



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 11:41 AM
link   
mako0956 and Hawk:

Am I missing something here? Did you read the post? This was a HOAX. The guy admitted doing it.




posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 01:36 PM
link   
Blagh, i hope the feds go and kick down this fools door and beat the hell outta him! Stupid kid aint got no damn respect.



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 02:40 PM
link   
Making this fake video, while not particularly judicious, is a far cry from criminal in my opinion. His friends and family probably should shun him and any future attempts to run for SF council should me met with outrage, this individual has clearly pointed out how easy it is to affect public opinion with a few thousand dollars worth of equipment and a sick mind.

[edit on 04/8/7 by GradyPhilpott]



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 10:23 PM
link   
Does someone have a link to the video in question?


d1k

posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 10:47 PM
link   
A link to the video would be appreciated. I stopped watching these beheading videos after the paul johnson incident. I would like to see this known fake to compare.



posted on Aug, 7 2004 @ 11:29 PM
link   
I had actually thought of faking a video myself but for the opposite reasons this clown did it for! I would like to see the outrage it would cause on the "Arab street" if we faked a beheading of an arab looking man by militant racist in the US? Would they show the same disregard they showed for the Americans beheaded? Or would they march and protest and scream " Jihad!" ?
I think I know what they would do!



posted on Aug, 8 2004 @ 02:06 AM
link   
posted on 7-8-2004 at 02:36 PM
Blagh, i hope the feds go and kick down this fools door and beat the hell outta him!

Hear, hear! This is the WRONG time for this kind self promotional of stunt. Right or left it only deepens the division and chaos. You have caused confusion and delay. String'em up. I'm out.

[edit on 8-8-2004 by Der Kapitan]

[edit on 8-8-2004 by Der Kapitan]



posted on Aug, 8 2004 @ 02:30 AM
link   

Originally posted by jsobecky
mako0956 and Hawk:

Am I missing something here? Did you read the post? This was a HOAX. The guy admitted doing it.



Yeah, your missing something, the person that started the thread changed it severely 3 or 4 times after it started. Something that SHOULD NOT BE DONE WITH ATSNN THREADS imho, especialy not when several postings have been made in reply.

It started out originaly as a report about the beheading video, then to one about a hoax being suspected, then to what it now.

[edit on 8-8-2004 by thematrix]



posted on Aug, 8 2004 @ 03:45 AM
link   

My condolences to this man's family.


This was a hoax this man is not dead he was just a dumbarse who though it would be funny to pull a stunt like this. I would go and shoot him he thinks doing this to get publicity is funny...if only I had my way with him



posted on Aug, 8 2004 @ 05:25 AM
link   

Originally posted by thematrix

Originally posted by jsobecky
mako0956 and Hawk:

Am I missing something here? Did you read the post? This was a HOAX. The guy admitted doing it.



Yeah, your missing something, the person that started the thread changed it severely 3 or 4 times after it started. Something that SHOULD NOT BE DONE WITH ATSNN THREADS imho, especialy not when several postings have been made in reply.

It started out originaly as a report about the beheading video, then to one about a hoax being suspected, then to what it now.

[edit on 8-8-2004 by thematrix]

I didn't know that...sorry to mako and Hawk for questioning their reading ability.




new topics

top topics



 
0

log in

join