the truth is out there

Dawn, Joey and Cory. RELATED LINK: You can find extensive documentation of Skaggs' hoaxes on his site

When Entertainment Tonight did a program on hoaxes, they decided to feature media prankster Joey Skaggs. Only the man they interviewed wasn't Skaggs. Skaggs sent a friend who didn't even look like him to the interview instead. The result? Entertainment Tonight was furious, and Joey Skaggs had pulled off another great hoax. The purpose of his hoaxes, Skaggs said in our interview with him, is to "rock the boat;" to provoke people into thinking about how they are and how the media influences them. In addition, he encourages people to be critical of their news sources (Skaggs has hoaxed CNN 6 times; many times appearing with only a minimal disguise and using variations of his own name). "The media is batting zero," Skaggs said. "It's pathetic." Skaggs' hoaxes are also designed to address social and political issues. deconstruction: Dog Meat Soup STAGE ONE: CONCEPTUALIZATION The Dog Meat Soup hoax (Kea So Joo) was designed to expose anti-Asian prejudice in society and the media. With the help of some Korean friends, Skaggs sent letters in broken English to dog shelters across the country, offering to take unwanted dogs off their hands and use them for soup. STAGE TWO: DOCUMENTATION Skaggs then documented the responses to the letter he sent. The news media jumped on the story, interviewing Asian restaurant owners around the city and asking whether they cooked dogs. Some journalists even claimed to have spoken with representatives from the Dog Meat Soup company, even though Skaggs never returned any of the angry phone calls and faxes. Some of the responses Joey got from dog lovers around the country included "Keep your traditions and customs in your own country where they belong!" and "What about Asian stew?" STAGE THREE: REVELATION OF TRUTH The hoax was finally revealed in the New York Times. sources INTERVIEW: Joey Skaggs. July 3, 1998. joeyskaggs.com back