Petrelis Files

Gay Syrian Hoaxer Threatens
to Sue Blogger Blumenthal

The straight married Anglo-American Tom MacMaster, the hoaxer behind the Gay Girl in Damascus blog, is very upset with blogger Max Blumenthal because he captured these messages on MacMaster's Facebook page from his friends and family members praising him and his elaborate web of deceit:

 

Blumenthal, an American writer with liberal credentials, thoughtfully transcribed some of the messages on the FB page for the hoaxer:

His friends and family members responded with notes of encouragement that revealed a delusional, if not totally cynical, perspective on what he had done. “I’m glad you are finally being recognized for your writing!” wrote someone named Chelsea McKinnon. “I do hope that besides the attention (and scandal) you’ve brought to light on several different political and social issues, that you actually get to profit in some way for your efforts!” A family member named Jenn Miller Macmaster wrote: “You likely inspired compassion for an otherwise oppressed population…Be gentle and compassionate to yourself, Tom:)” Other friends joked about the situation. “This whole incident is starting to make me think that maybe I shouldn’t have given that Nigerian prince all of my bank account information. Nah, I’m sure it’s fine,” wrote a MacMaster pal named Al Freeman.

MacMaster was so upset with Blumenthal he may have created, are you sitting down for this shocking news?, two sockpuppets to lodge complaints against Blumenthal:

[MacMaster] didn’t like my factual reporting about him and his Facebook page. He seems to be threatening legal action against me if I don’t remove the post. He also thinks I’m “considerably worse” than him. I could not help noticing the similarity in tone and content between MacMaster’s note and the comments on my previous post by “Jim Smith” and “Robert Stein.” Has MacMaster created more fake online personas? ...

I traced the IP address of angry commenter “Robert Stein” to Istanbul, Turkey. Did MacMaster, who has said he is currently on vacation in Istanbul, create a new fake online persona to attack me and my factual reporting about him?

Blumenthal again created a screen capture to better show us their exchange, in which he expresses a desire to be challenged in court by MacMaster:

MacMaster would do us all a huge favor if he would carry through on his threat to sue Blumenthal.That lawsuit could bring a lot more scrutiny to MacMaster and his hoax, provide still-needed accountability over his and his wife Britta Froelicher's actions, and help prevent similar deceits in the future.