Manhole Fires, Pantsless Kenneth, and Shopped or Not?

February 18, 2013 11:24 AM

In late January of this year, an underground fire cut off a lot of power to downtown Omaha. Soon afterwards, as frequently happens, a photo begins to make the rounds on the internet, including Reddit and Gawker. Cue the usual debate about whether the image was real or a Photoshopped fake. An Omaha reporter discovers where the photo came from, and the New York Times finds it a fun story as well.
posted by PussKillian (12 comments total)

Aww. The story of how the reporter got the bottom of it is kind of heartwarming.

“When people suggested that I Photoshopped the photo, my first thought was, ‘Why would I do that? What for?’

It was kind of interesting how the woman who took the photo knew what the other bright spots in the picture were, but nobody else figured it out, just saying, "Fake!"
posted by xingcat at 11:29 AM on February 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

That NYT piece is drowning in its own irony. It's a straight-up retelling of the original story, with no real value or reporting added, with this conclusion:

All of which serves as a reminder to reporters — and those who read their work — that if journalists take their eyes off the screen, leave their cubicle and actually go out and talk with people, they might discover something that is interesting as heck.
posted by jbickers at 11:30 AM on February 18, 2013 [12 favorites]

The Commissar is indeed amiss.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:31 AM on February 18, 2013

Why is the entire world so interested in turning back the clock and happily once again living in a superstitious dark age of mumbo jumbo? The "fireballs" are obviously streetlights, or the reflections of streetlights. Come on, Internet people!
posted by KokuRyu at 11:32 AM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

...Pantsless Kenneth...

Fans of 30 Rock's lovable page/network president, save your excitement and five minutes.
posted by resurrexit at 11:40 AM on February 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

Good to see somebody is still doing something that vaguely resembles investigative journalism.
And I'm glad I'm not the only person that thinks Reddit is an "online cesspool." I suspect it's just a combination of the average age of users and the moderation policy, but whatever, the jab was still worth a smirk.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:45 AM on February 18, 2013

And I'm glad I'm not the only person that thinks Reddit is an "online cesspool."

Lemme guess, Reddit stole your bicycle when you were a kid and you're still pissed at them?
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:45 PM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Lemme guess, Reddit stole your bicycle when you were a kid and you're still pissed at them?
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:45 PM on February 18 [+] [!]

There's only so much immaturity, nastiness, and sexism I can take in one day. Was that a serious question?
posted by Stagger Lee at 12:49 PM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

There's only so much immaturity, nastiness, and sexism I can take in one day. Was that a serious question?

Wait, you read the comments? Who does that?
posted by madajb at 1:18 PM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Why is the entire world so interested in turning back the clock and happily once again living in a superstitious dark age of mumbo jumbo? The "fireballs" are obviously streetlights, or the reflections of streetlights. Come on, Internet people!

It's always a streetlight...
posted by pupdog at 1:18 PM on February 18, 2013

There's only so much immaturity, nastiness, and sexism I can take in one day. Was that a serious question?

Umm, I guess the only serious question I have now is don't you think you're painting one site with an overly broad brush? I personally feel that some of their AMAs are great contributions to internet culture. And some of their charitable works are unmatched by any site. But if you feel that they're truly a "cesspool", then I'm not the Reddit cheerleader hoping to change your mind. I would advise however, given your presumed level of discomfort with Reddit, that you well and truly steer clear of anything to do with 4ch and /b/.

/derail
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 1:23 PM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

So I don't think this is a close enough connection to warrant deletion or anything, but in the interests of full disclosure I've just discovered that as I suspected, I know Pantsless Kenneth. I shot him an email to confirm it. He's really tickled by his new moniker.
posted by PussKillian at 1:25 PM on February 18, 2013 [4 favorites]