Some profiles on MySpace.com not what they seem
Political figures targeted on site
WASHINGTON -- Reading a profile of Senator Edward M. Kennedy on MySpace.com, one might be surprised to read the Massachusetts Democrat's candid reference to his ``past tales of womanizing and drinking."
Of course, those aren't really his words. A Kennedy spokesman said the senator has never even had a MySpace page. Neither has President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, nor many other leaders, all of whom nonetheless can be found on the trendy site.
As politicians and candidates have raced to the Internet to target younger voters, scores of young voters have created profiles on MySpace to mock them. From Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, who ``loves Harry Potter," to White House adviser Karl Rove, who ``would like to meet Ricki Lake," no one is safe from MySpace ridicule.
``We are aware that it happens," said Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for MySpace, adding that most political leaders have seemed unbothered by the ridicule.
Nonetheless, MySpace has an e-mail address specifically for political figures to contact who have been impersonated on the site, and any images depicting illegal activity are sent to law enforcement. But there has been no outcry from Capitol Hill staff members who see mock MySpace pages as part of political life in cyberspace.
``I think where John Kerry is concerned, web surfers will accept no substitutes, and soon we'll have a genuine MySpace site to set the record straight," Kerry spokesman Liz Richardson said.
Bush has several pages. One shows him eating a kitten. Another has him saying he's the president of ``Emerica," hates gays and abortion, and likes war and ``edumacation."
Cheney's mock page describes him as ``evil" and says he enjoys the movie ``Mrs. Doubtfire."
Osama bin Laden is on Bush's friend list, but not on Cheney's.
There's also a mock page for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, in which she trashes her husband, says she's bisexual, and lists socialism and world domination as hobbies.
Her husband, Bill, isn't on her friend list, but he's on the site -- saying he'd like to meet Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, porn star Ron Jeremy, and a good lawyer.
Loren Collins, 28, is running for Georgia's Fourth Congressional District under the Bull Moose Party, and created a MySpace page to get his name out to voters.
``I absolutely believe that the benefits outweigh the negatives," Collins said. ``The risk of fake MySpace pages may exist, but detractors have long had the capacity to create fake websites and blogs too. And fake MySpace pages are easier to discover and have removed."
But reporting an impersonation usually involves the victim of the mock page sending a photo of himself or herself holding a note with their name on it -- something most busy national politicians won't likely do -- and often waiting for days while the page remains. A third party can only report the page and assume something will be done about it.
Speaking to a live customer service representative poses another problem.
``We actually don't have a live customer service center, but we have an e-mail customer service center," Nigam said, noting that there are special addresses for politicians, teachers, and other potential subjects of ridicule.
MySpace has more than 109 million members -- more than 70 million new members this past year alone. Put in that context, Nigam said, his company's record with imposter sites and abuse is good.
``With over 1 billion hits every day, I think were doing quite well in that area," he said.
MySpace.com was founded by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe in 2003. In 2005,
Murdoch himself has become fodder for his new Internet company -- his mock MySpace page says, ``I just bought MySpace.com; soon I will own the rest of the Internet."
