The FBI has confirmed it faked an Associated Press story to catch a bomb threat suspect in 2007.
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NEW DELHI/SEATTLE: The FBI has confirmed it faked a story to catch a bomb threat suspect in 2007.
According to Seattle Times, the FBI created a bogus webpage of the Washington-based newspaper and planted an AP story on it to nab a juvenile suspect.
The FBI, however, denied the report, saying that it did not spoof a Seattle Times webpage as part of the investigation.
Seattle FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich said the FBI tricked the 15-year-old suspect into revealing the location and internet address of his computer by sending a link for the fake AP article to a social media account associated with the threats.
Documents obtained by the Electronic Freedom Foundation suggested the bogus story was posted on a fake Seattle Times site, but Dietrich says that's wrong. Instead, she says an undercover agent sent the teen a hyperlink that simply said "article" and the Seattle Times was not referenced.
Both news organizations objected to the FBI's actions.
"We are outraged that the FBI, with the apparent assistance of the US attorney's office, misappropriated the name of the Seattle Times to secretly install spyware on the computer of a crime suspect," said Seattle Times editor Kathy Best.
Police in suburban Lacey, near Olympia, had sought FBI's help when repeated bomb threats prompted a week of evacuations at Timberline High School in June 2007.
According to Seattle Times, the FBI created a bogus webpage of the Washington-based newspaper and planted an AP story on it to nab a juvenile suspect.
The FBI, however, denied the report, saying that it did not spoof a Seattle Times webpage as part of the investigation.
Seattle FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich said the FBI tricked the 15-year-old suspect into revealing the location and internet address of his computer by sending a link for the fake AP article to a social media account associated with the threats.
Documents obtained by the Electronic Freedom Foundation suggested the bogus story was posted on a fake Seattle Times site, but Dietrich says that's wrong. Instead, she says an undercover agent sent the teen a hyperlink that simply said "article" and the Seattle Times was not referenced.
Both news organizations objected to the FBI's actions.
"We are outraged that the FBI, with the apparent assistance of the US attorney's office, misappropriated the name of the Seattle Times to secretly install spyware on the computer of a crime suspect," said Seattle Times editor Kathy Best.
Police in suburban Lacey, near Olympia, had sought FBI's help when repeated bomb threats prompted a week of evacuations at Timberline High School in June 2007.
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