Kirkland man sued over postings from fake sex ad
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KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Jason Fortuny says it was all about curiosity and he never meant to get such graphic replies. But his 2006 social experiment has left him defending himself against a federal lawsuit.
At first glance, the posting looked like any number of online ads explicitly seeking sex. But the ad on Craigslist purporting to be from a 27-year-old woman with long brown hair was actually placed by Fortuny, who collected the replies and posted them online.
One of the respondents was a Microsoft employee who sent a picture that depicted him exposing himself in his cubicle. He was fired.
Of the 178 responses to the fake ad were 145 photos of men "in various states of undress." The replies included e-mail addresses, names and in some cases, instant-messaging accounts and phone numbers.
Fortuny, 32, posted all of the replies, including the photos, names and contact information.
"It was really a goof. It was a one-off," Fortuny said on Tuesday. "I wasn't something I was expecting to get news coverage."
In an interview with the New York Times published over the weekend, Fortuny said he was "a normal person who does insane things on the Internet."
He admitted to authoring a blog titled "Megan Had It Coming," which purported to be written by the classmate of Megan Meier, who hanged herself after receiving cruel messages from who she thought was a boy on MySpace.
The messages to Megan were actually from a mother living down the street who wanted to know what Megan was saying about her own daughter, who had had a falling out with Megan.
As for the fake Craiglist ad, Fortuny said he never set out to embarrass anyone and was instead trying to start a conversation.
He admits it's an experiment that backfired, considering he's now facing a $75,000 lawsuit from one of the men who responded to the ad.
Fortuny called the lawsuit frivolous, but said he couldn't blame the victim for suing.
"The consequences on other people is a great conversation and it's one that we haven't fully resolved," he said.
Asked if he was being insensitive toward those whose information was posted, Fortuny responded, "Just because I don't empathize in this scenario does not mean that I never empathize."
Fortuny said anyone whose information he published as a result of the ad can have their response taken down by sending a cease-and-desist letter to encyclopediadramatica.com, where the information was first posted.
Due to the widespread coverage of the initial incident, however, many of the responses were copied to other sites, so removing a response from the main listing will likely do little to keep the information from public view.
In an an eight-page motion seeking to dismiss the complaint, Fortuny wrote "I am frequently rude, unsympathetic, unempathetic, and politically incorrect, to put it mildly. But there's no law against that."
Fortuny is representing himself in the federal lawsuit and said he had no means to afford a lawyer.
At first glance, the posting looked like any number of online ads explicitly seeking sex. But the ad on Craigslist purporting to be from a 27-year-old woman with long brown hair was actually placed by Fortuny, who collected the replies and posted them online.
One of the respondents was a Microsoft employee who sent a picture that depicted him exposing himself in his cubicle. He was fired.
Of the 178 responses to the fake ad were 145 photos of men "in various states of undress." The replies included e-mail addresses, names and in some cases, instant-messaging accounts and phone numbers.
Fortuny, 32, posted all of the replies, including the photos, names and contact information.
"It was really a goof. It was a one-off," Fortuny said on Tuesday. "I wasn't something I was expecting to get news coverage."
In an interview with the New York Times published over the weekend, Fortuny said he was "a normal person who does insane things on the Internet."
He admitted to authoring a blog titled "Megan Had It Coming," which purported to be written by the classmate of Megan Meier, who hanged herself after receiving cruel messages from who she thought was a boy on MySpace.
The messages to Megan were actually from a mother living down the street who wanted to know what Megan was saying about her own daughter, who had had a falling out with Megan.
As for the fake Craiglist ad, Fortuny said he never set out to embarrass anyone and was instead trying to start a conversation.
He admits it's an experiment that backfired, considering he's now facing a $75,000 lawsuit from one of the men who responded to the ad.
Fortuny called the lawsuit frivolous, but said he couldn't blame the victim for suing.
"The consequences on other people is a great conversation and it's one that we haven't fully resolved," he said.
Asked if he was being insensitive toward those whose information was posted, Fortuny responded, "Just because I don't empathize in this scenario does not mean that I never empathize."
Fortuny said anyone whose information he published as a result of the ad can have their response taken down by sending a cease-and-desist letter to encyclopediadramatica.com, where the information was first posted.
Due to the widespread coverage of the initial incident, however, many of the responses were copied to other sites, so removing a response from the main listing will likely do little to keep the information from public view.
In an an eight-page motion seeking to dismiss the complaint, Fortuny wrote "I am frequently rude, unsympathetic, unempathetic, and politically incorrect, to put it mildly. But there's no law against that."
Fortuny is representing himself in the federal lawsuit and said he had no means to afford a lawyer.