Daric Richie dupes PMF and Peter Quennell

Did an Amanda Knox protest happen against a little known blogger? (Read further to find out what on earth I'm talking about!)

There are times following guilters when even I'm surprised.  I sit back and think "They can't really be this stupid can they?".  Thing is, guilters are always one upping themselves on the dumb meter.  This incident is no exception.  The whole situation is so absurd that it's almost difficult to explain.  For a group of cyber-idiots that is always quick to google everything and anything in order to try to substantiate whatever they can, it's surprising they didn't even notice they were and still are being bamboozled by a fame seeking young in'.

So before we get into how PMF was duped, lets talk about who duped them.  A kid who calls himself Daric Richie. Besides Peter Quennell, I don't think I've seen a bigger pathological liar in my life, which is why it's so funny that the two took to each other so fast (more later).

So who is Daric?  Long story short, he's appears to be an internet personality who has been trying to make himself famous in the most desperate way possible:  writing online articles about himself with fake names all over the internet.  A quick google shows what looks like boatloads of articles he's written about himself on as many sites as possible, all with made up names, desperately trying to make himself famous.  Here is the google search in case you're feeling lazy.

Here are articles about him on Zimbio.

He's even made a wiki about himself.

And an urgent press release.

And a blogger profile.

I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say I think know who wrote all of the above articles.  I dunno, what do YOU think?

I also suggest watching this video called Daric Rawr Exposed! which was done by a woman who figured things out pretty quick.  Also, this video also has some interesting stuff as well. There are also allegations swirling around the internet that he actually made up a fake boyfriend and made up some weird stuff after that.   I'm not touching it with a ten foot pole.   This of course sounds unbelievable at first, until you read more and more about the guy to the point where it does actually sound totally believable.  He's like Peter Quennell's little understudy I guess.

Oh, he also has two books on Amazon.  His Amazon sales rank shows that not a single person has bought his book though.

Anyhoo, the kid comes off as a total online con artist, and it's completely obvious to any rational person....which is why he's so easily duped PMF.

So what does this have to do with the Amanda Knox case?

Great question.  I'm glad you asked.  In order to gain attention, Daric began writing articles about himself and his opinions on the Amanda Knox case using a fake alias.  The articles have been removed by Examiner.com, who caught on pretty quick to what was going on.  (Note to anyone making up fake reporter personas:  If you're going to pretend be a long time journalist, don't  say your fake persona used to write for the Washington post when (a) the Washington Post has no record of articles from that made up person and (b) if the person actually wrote for the Washington Post, they probably would know how to use a semicolon and write semi-literately).

You can't see the examiner articles any more, but they're still in the Google Cache.  Here are some of them and the headlines:

"Italian Church rips Daric Richie for his defending Amanda Knox"

"Tacoma Blogger Daric Richie faces criticism after defending Amanda Knox"

When his fake support of Amanda Knox didn't garer him any attention, he suddenly did a 180 and changed his mind!  The headline read:

"Daric Richie's sudden change in verdict sparks outrage"

The fake article stated: "Daric (16) who was seen leaving his home earlier this morning 'Ran into an outraged group of protestors while reportedly heading to his local library to study for his upcoming life as a college student' says neighbor Lisa Guarani."

Lo and behold, for about the last five days, Mr. Daric has been posting frequently on PMF, and has been admired by all.

Now, most people's BS detector would go off after reading one of these articles, but even as of TODAY, there are PMFers distraught over this blatantly made up story.

One of the posters who calls herself "The Bard" (or as she is often referred to as "stupid even for PMF"), giving us the guilter quote of the day:  ****WARNING:  Do NOT drink anything while reading this****

"This is totally UNACCEPTABLE.  You are a minor.  Your mother should not be upset by this either.  I too am appalled that a child of sixteen is being targeted, going about his business, by supporters of a convicted murder.  Is the FOA in total meltdown?  What kind of publicity is this going to bring them?  Are there factions outside the control of central command and Marriott?  Surely so.  Not intelligent strategist would condone this tactic.

Daric, you are learning first hand -- like Skep -- what it means to be harassed for stating your views, and standing up for the right to express them.  It is a political act on one level.  Well done.  Don't forget: the USA has freedom of speech.  You are doing nothing wrong.  This is how it should be.  But it's tough to be in the firing line.  You're learning more about politics than any University could teach you in a first year.  Stand firm.  Don't be bullied.  Don't be afraid.  Best wishes to your Mother.  I hope she's ok.  She should be very proud of you.  What is happening to you is showing the level of desperation the FOA will resort to.  Their desperation is stunning."

Yes Bard, it truly is stunning.

But there's more from Bard:

"Hang on. Let me get this absolutely straight: You, a sixteen year old boy, are being ambushed and lobbied by a group of Amanda Knox supporters, who have traced where you live? The Friends of Amanda (FOA) are directly targetting a 16 year old kid.  Daric, please confirm. This is totally unacceptable. Doug has sold the story to news outlets???? What's the headline: 16 year old kid reads Massei and concludes it right.com?   Daric, you have no IDEA what you are doing for Meredith, god love you...".

Almost as priceless as the Bard's above quote is how amazingly well Daric got along with likeminded weirdo Peter Quennell.

On the fake protest Daric Richie made out of the air, Peter Quennell wrote the following ****WARNING: do NOT drink anything while reading*****:

"FOA must have a contract with Rentacrowd for instant demos outside peoples homes.  This is getting more Monty Pythonesque by the day.

Pete."

Earlier, Quennell commented on the fake article Richie wrote about himself where the Catholic Church admonished him for his support of Knox:

"Tks Stilicho. I think more interesting than the blogger read in more than 6 countries is is that an Italian Catholic church ("Santa Maria Di Monteluce") seems to be accepting guilt as the verdict.   Santa Maria Di Monteluce is the name of a big church in Perugia and I cant find any others. Anyone? What is the score here?

Pete"

Of course, when Peter Quennell thought Daric was on the other side, he had this to say:

"Its "Bruce Fishers" territory for sure, Daric's high-readership claims are also a joke. His blog is not even in the top 5 million in readers.  For comparison, the website tracker Alexa has PMF and TJMK each in the top 1/2 million and (again) rising fast. Maybe 50X what his readers are.  

The guy is a ninny on a trip. Nothing more."

(You'll notice the irony in the level of skepticism Fat Pete exhibits if someone disagrees with him and the discrepancy when they come into his corner).

So was the protest real?  Of course not, nothing Daric Richie says is real.  And its obvious to anyone with half a brain.  Nevertheless, Friends of Amanda has listed an official statement:

FOA STATEMENT RE DARIC RICHIE

It has come to our attention that a recent FOA protest action had the effect of driving Daric Richie and his mother out of their Tacoma residence and into hiding at an undisclosed location. 

We wish to emphasize that this action was not authorized by FOA. It was the unfortunate result of a logistical and communication error. Like many large organizations, FOA is beset by control weaknesses between functional silos. A mid-level FOA executive inadvertantly attached the wrong URL to an email authorizing the protest, and our director of field operations failed to confirm the proper location. An action that was intended to target Giuliano Mignini in Perugia, Italy, ended up taking place at a grocery store in Tacoma, Washington.

The error was further compounded by a decision to work with a new subcontractor on this particular project. FOA commands vast financial resources, but cost pressures affect our organization just as they do any other. We sought to economize by working with a small firm whose core business is repossessing automobiles. The culture of this organization is not compatible with our objectives, and we will not be using their services again.

FOA therefore wishes to apologize to Daric Richie and to Mrs. Richie. You may return to your home with the assurance that we will not bother you again. You may also swing by our office parking lot any time during normal business hours, to reclaim your car. 


WHAT DO YOU THINK?  IS PMF PLAYING DUMB?  OR ARE THEY JUST THAT DUMB?