Quadrant latest magazine to be hoaxed

Tim Burrowes

January 7, 2009 10:08

The right-leaning magazine Quadrant has fallen victim to a hoaxer who persuaded it to publish an article on, ironically enough, the poor quality of science journalism.

News of the hoax was broken by Crikey, where the hoaxer’s blog can also be viewed. Angry editor Keith Windschuttle has suggested that Crikey’s Margaret Simons, who broke the story was the hoaxer, which she vigorously denies.

The ease with which the press can be hoaxed was also demonstrated last year by PR Phil Tripp who persuaded newspapers including the Daily Telegraph that John Farnham’s manager Glenn Wheatley was to be the subject of a reality TV show following his release from prison for tax evasion.

And last year creatives from DraftFCB New Zealand hoaxed trade titles that they’d stormed out of the agency in what turned out to be a PR stunt for the launch of the TV series Mad Men.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.