SEATTLE (AP) — The FBI is confirming it faked an Associated Press story to catch a bomb threat suspect in 2007.
But it says it did not spoof a Seattle Times web page as part of the investigation.
Both news organizations have objected to the FBI’s actions.
Police in suburban Lacey, near Olympia, sought the FBI’s help as repeated bomb threats prompted a week of evacuations at Timberline High School in June 2007.
Seattle FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich says 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.
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Image via Wikimedia / [FBI]
