Suppose you just learned that someone had “compromised” your Internet and used it to download child pornography. How would you respond?
Would you (a) go to the police, (b) broadcast to the entire world that someone had used your Internet to download child pornography or (c) blame it on a conspiracy theory?
If you chose (a), then congratulations, you’re not Paul Krugman, an economics columnist for The New York Times who’s been accused of being wrong about virtually everything.
In a since-deleted tweet posted Wednesday afternoon, the economic Miss Cleo revealed that someone had used his Internet to download child pornography and blamed the alleged crime on a conspiracy theory known as “Qanon.”
Look:
Here it is. pic.twitter.com/GpW8Ohv3uV
— Aaron (@Real_AaronM) January 9, 2020
Naturally, his tweet prompted an outpouring of questions all centered on the same basic theme: “What the hell is wrong with you, dude?”
Observe:
I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to go straight to law enforcement to sort this out instead of Twitter… The fact you went to Twitter is… Very concerning.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 8, 2020
Also why put this statement out? Have you been contacted by or reached out to any law enforcement? Seems really bizarre to tweet this. I can’t think of a halfway competent lawyer who’d advise the victim of a horrible thing like this to tweet what you just tweeted.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 8, 2020
Sounds like it’s an ugly world inside your world. In the lawyer verses PR hire, you took the wrong person’s advice. No lawyer would have let you put that out into the universe. A Hollywood publicist, maybe…
— Priscilla Pilon (@PriscillaPilon) January 8, 2020
1. “Compromised my IP address and it is using it to download child pornography” – Compromised not your network, or your computer, but, your IP address?
2. The Times is not a law enforcement agency.
3. Why are you sharing this information with the whole world?#cybersecurity
— Joseph Steinberg (@JosephSteinberg) January 9, 2020
It is of course possible that someone hacked his computer and used it as a server for illegal conduct. That does happen. But man oh man, why post something like THAT at this phase? Utterly incomprehensible.
— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 8, 2020
As of Thursday morning, there was some good news, some bad news, and some really good news.
Good news: Evidence now suggests that Krugman was simply hit by scammers who were trying to manipulate him into forking over money to fix the problem.
“Deleted original tweet. Times thinks it may have been a scam. Anyway, will have more security in future,” he wrote in an update late Wednesday.
Look:
Deleted original tweet. Times thinks it may have been a scam. Anyway, will have more security in future
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 9, 2020
Moreover, according to politically active music video director Robby Starbuck, Krugman has a history of being fooled by scammers.
Look:
Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize winner. Elitists think he’s really smart. ??? pic.twitter.com/72AQYwDX8w
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 9, 2020
Of course, not everybody believes the “scam” story. Some think Krugman’s tweets were part of a plot (of conspiracy) to deflect blame from himself …
Look:
The only logical reason I can think of why Paul Krugman would advertise, apropos of nothing, that child pornography is “being downloaded” to his computer (and totally NOT by him) is because he got tipped that he’s about to be in deep shit.
— Adam Trahan (@AdamTrahan) January 8, 2020
Speaking as a Princeton economics alum, you’re one reason I haven’t donated in five years.
I thought you were merely incompetent. But blaming Qanon for CP at your IP address makes you look like Suspect #1.
— Lissmojo (@Lissmojo) January 8, 2020
While it’s possible, Occam’s razor suggests this isn’t the case…
Bad News: As Starbuck also noted, Krugman is considered a “smart” voice, particularly in regard to politics. Yet he’s easily fooled and has a history of being wrong, especially in regard to President Donald Trump’s otherwise booming economy.
“Paul Krugman is a Nobel Laureate in economics, but he manages to be wrong every time he makes a prediction about Trump and the economy,” National Review columnist David Harsanyi put it in the meta description of a piece he published in November.
Fact-check: TRUE.
“Here Comes the Trump Slump,” the headline of a piece Krugman himself published a month earlier in October read.
“[I]t’s starting to look as if Trump really will achieve something unique: He may well be the first president of modern times to preside over a slump that can be directly attributed to his own policies, rather than bad luck,” he wrote at the time.
Three months later, that projected slump is nowhere in sight …
In fact, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record intraday highs this week after the president delivered a speech about the situation concerning Iran.
But again, despite being wrong — and falling for obvious scams — he continues to be considered a “renowned” voice. Why?
Really Good News: Krugman’s self-own has inadvertently helped demonstrate his incompetence and naivety to the public at large.
And so maybe now people will think twice before trusting his so-called “wisdom” …
Seriously why does anyone take Paul Krugman seriously as an economist?
Here’s his stunning track record…
He’s making it all up as he goes along and yet The New York Times pays him for his “expert” opinion on the economy. pic.twitter.com/nguFQFHUMD
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 9, 2020
I mean, at best you’re currently on the phone with a scammer who is about to steal money/data and actually compromise your system. In which case you’re just completely incompetent and making it public.
At worst…
— Alex Ivanov | Team GB ?? | Happy No-EU Year ? (@2GSlavBrit) January 8, 2020
So I assume this is code for “sorry I am apparently a complete idiot”?
— Sofar Sogood (@winsmith39) January 9, 2020
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Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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