Could Deadspin have known Manti Te'o was innocent?

[poindexter]

Didn't Deadspin include an "80% certain" line?

 

[dooley_womack1]

The suggestion it wouldn't have blown up without implying he was in on it -- which is the premise of the conspiracy that relates to media topic here -- seems silly.

It would've been a big deal either way, just for the car wreck nature of it all.

I don't think it's outrageous to think Deadspin wanted as juicy a story as possible.

Regardless, we seem to agree that Deadspin implied Te'o was in on the hoax. So I'm just wondering if they had evidence that the implications were wrong.

I see only one post that agreed with that.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Didn't Deadspin include an "80% certain" line?

A friend of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo told us he was "80 percent sure" that Manti Te'o was "in on it," and that the two perpetrated Lennay Kekua's death with publicity in mind. According to the friend, there were numerous photos of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo and Te'o together on Tuiasosopo's now-deleted Instagram account.

The sheer quantity of falsehoods about Manti's relationship with Lennay makes that friend, and another relative of Ronaiah's, believe Te'o had to know the truth. Mostly, though, the friend simply couldn't believe that Te'o would be stupid enough—or Ronaiah Tuiasosopo clever enough—to sustain the relationship for nearly a year.

http://deadspin.com/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-an-5976517

 

[Lugnuts]

Everything is fake, faux, and fixed.

It's all a conspiracy. Except the conspirators aren't real-- they're fake.

It's like Inception. Except that movie wasn't real-- it was a dream. A fake dream transplanted into your brain by the conspirators, aka the government.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

That's a great example of pretty good posting. You still bring it, Lugnuts.

 

[NDJournalist]

I highly doubt Deadspin would post something they knew to be false. Deadspin is many things, some bad and some good. One thing they do as good as anybody (most times) is investigative journalism.

 

[Lugnuts]

That's a great example of pretty good posting. You still bring it, Lugnuts.

Thank you! I thought of you when I posted that because it's your writing style and your humor.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

That's a great example of pretty good posting. You still bring it, Lugnuts.

Thank you! I thought of you when I posted that because it's your writing style and your humor.

Yeah, but it was a fake.

 

[Riptide]

I highly doubt Deadspin would post something they knew to be false. Deadspin is many things, some bad and some good. One thing they do as good as anybody (most times) is investigative journalism.

That's a great example of pretty lame posting. You still don't bring it, NDJ.

 

[NDJournalist]

In addition to Te'o, Deadspin was the first to break the Favre-Sterger story and a myriad of other stories as well.

Some of the stuff they do is stupid, but there's no doubt they can break stories with the best of them.

 

[DrewJo]

I highly doubt Deadspin would post something they knew to be false. Deadspin is many things, some bad and some good. One thing they do as good as anybody (most times) is investigative journalism.

I do think the top editors at Deadspin--Tommy Craggs and Tom Scocca--would've been smart enough not to print something if they had evidence it was wrong.

But they weren't the ones actually interviewing the sources. The reporter speaking on the phone with Diane O'Meara was Timothy Burke--and I've caught that guy spreading some ridiculous lies in the past. That's why I don't feel so comfortable giving him the benefit of the doubt. He's the only reporter at Deadspin who would've known for sure what Diane O'Meara said.

 

[NDJournalist]

I highly doubt Deadspin would post something they knew to be false. Deadspin is many things, some bad and some good. One thing they do as good as anybody (most times) is investigative journalism.

I do think the top editors at Deadspin--Tommy Craggs and Tom Scocca--would've been smart enough not to print something if they had evidence it was wrong.

But they weren't the ones actually interviewing the sources. The reporter speaking on the phone with Diane O'Meara was Timothy Burke--and I've caught that guy spreading some ridiculous lies in the past. That's why I don't feel so comfortable giving him the benefit of the doubt. He's the only reporter at Deadspin who would've known for sure what Diane O'Meara said.

Spreadng ridiculous lies? Do tell.