Brandjack News

By Quentin Langley

Anthony Weiner is a forthright and combative US Representative and has been considered a front-runner for the mayoralty of New York in 2013. His latest social media gaffe has brandjacked his reputation, and his evasive answers mean the story is unlikely to go away in the short term.

The fact is that Weiner's Twitter feed briefly showed a photograph of a man in briefs, addressed to a young woman on Twitter. The most obvious explanation for this is that whoever sent it omitted the "d" prior to woman's Twitter handle, which would have made the post a direct message, visible only to her, instead.

Weiner's immediate response was to claim that his account had been hacked, and he has been consistent on that since. But his normally clear and forthright style melts into ums, ahs, and evasive body language every time the issue is brought up. He refuses to be clear on any other matter related to the controversy. For example, he won't say that the picture is not of him, or even that it is, merely that he cannot say with "certitude" that it is not. Something about his public stance does not add up.

If his account has been hacked, then a crime has been committed. The consequences are limited, in this case, to severe embarrassment for a previously rising politician. But it is easy to imagine tweets that could be falsely attrributed to a US Congressman that would cause market panics, or riots. Imagine, for example, a rumour that the US was about to sell gold, or repudiate public debt. Imagine a rumour that the US was about to withdraw all military support from Israel, or launch a nuclear attack on Iran. While such a false Tweet could be corrected in a few minutes, it is far from clear that the resultant damage could be so easily rectified. Surely a crime with such significant potential impact should be investigated? Weiner should at least assure us that he has himself investigated the source of the hack and can be sure it will not happen again. But, apparently, he does not want this crime investigated.

So, it seems fairly likely, he is hiding something. It is possible that he did indeed sent the Tweet, perhaps intending it as a direct message. But if he is willing to lie about this, why is he so hesitant to lie with clarity and consistency, by denying that the picture is him, for example? Does he feel that this lie would be easier to expose?

Perhaps he knows, or suspects, that the picture was sent by a member of his staff, perhaps someone authorised to tweet on his behalf? But that doesn't quite fit either. Why not cut loose the offender?

The problem is, that Weiner looks like a man in trouble, and the media sharks smell blood. For all the talk about partisan media bias – and some media plainly exercise partisan motivations – the biggest bias any journalist will exercise is in favour of the good story. This man is in trouble, and every hack wants to be the one to break the story, and Weiner's political career.

And the story is made just that little bit more embarrassing by his name. Americans pronounce it weener – just as they pronounce Wiener, as in Wiener schnitzel, a word they use as a slang term for penis. Weiner showing his wiener on Twitter is just too goood a story to miss.