Just the other week, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) discovered an interesting pattern with letters to the editor. Numerous newspapers from around the country were posting letters with nearly identical language all signed by “Ellie Light.” The only real difference was that the author claimed a local address (in West Virgina, Ohio, Maine, California, etc.) each time. The letters were in support of Obama and asked America to be patient while he tries to solve tough issues. Here is The Plain Dealer’s original story. After a week of rumors, theories, and some excellent investigation work done by Sabrina Eaton at The Plain Dealer it was discovered that Ellie Light was actually a man named Winston Steward from California. Here is the updated story.

There are still plenty of rumors flying around about Steward. Some think he is actually an operative for the Obama administration trying to plant grassroots support around the country. After all, Steward has gone through several lies to cover his tracks (at one point he claimed his name was Barbara Brooks) so there may yet be more to this story. However, I want to focus on the role technology played in this story and provide a lesson for campaigns.

Some are questioning the newspapers that published the letters for not insuring that the letters to the editors were authentic. Even the paper that broke the story, The Plain Dealer is guilty of this failing. The only reason the reporter at The Plain Dealer investigated Ellie Light’s identity was because she happened to have had an old co-worker by the same name and wanted to see if it was the same person. The point I want to focus on is that whether this letter writing campaign is part of a larger conspiracy or not, it was going to be discovered no matter what.

The pattern of Ellie Light’s letters was easy to discover. All it took was a quick search on Lexis-Nexis (online database of newspapers) to show the same letter by the same author in different papers across the country. In a matter of a few seconds Ellie Light was busted. Steward came up with all kinds of excuses but at the end of the day credibility was lost and he ended up doing damage to Obama’s reputation.

I want to go back to a point I have talked about, especially when it comes to social media: honesty. Letters to the editor are nothing more than a primitive social media tool. Steward chose to send letters to newspapers, but he could have just as easily chose to set up a blog, Twitter, or Facebook account with the name of “Ellie Light.” The result would be the same either way. When voters want to engage in a discussion they want to do it openly and honestly. If you are faced with losing your job, struggling with student loans, or just worried about the general welfare of your community and country, the last thing you want is a fictional person telling you what to think. There is a big difference between engaging the community and supporting grass roots organizations, and faking its creation. Technology has opened up opportunities to fake an identity, but it also has created a bunch of tools to catch those schemes. I cannot emphasize this enough: DO NOT TRY IT!

I have no doubt that this type of thing will be tried again. There are probably some cases where the instigator was never uncovered. However, the cost of being caught greatly outweighs any potential benefits. Ellie Light got national attention not because the original letters were well thought out or inspiring, but because the secret plot was discovered. While there is no official connection between Ellie Light and Obama to this date, just think of the real damage that would be done if a connection was confirmed.

The next post will be February 16th.