Fake News #1
Trusted news about things you can’t trust
Welcome to Fake News — Indelible’s round-up of moments where a little proof would have gone a long way… the ones that make us quietly whisper: “if only they’d used our ink.”
The fell-off-the-back-of-a-truck special
We kick off in Australia, where the AFL (a curious local interpretation of football) has found itself back in the headlines. Former player agent Ricky Nixon has been found guilty of selling fake signed memorabilia.
According to the ABC, “Ricky Nixon, 62, paid about $18,000 in cash for more than 40 footballs purportedly signed by Melbourne's 2021 premiership side from a man with a truck inside a car park.”
Look, we’re not here to put the boot into a bloke who’s already down, but even without Indelible’s tech, “a man with a truck in a car park” is usually a clue that authenticity might not be the star player. And yes, if you’re about to drop $18k on footballs, it would be handy to have a way to test whether they’re legitimate before on-selling them and copping a $4,500 fine.
But hey, what would we know?
Don’t look back in anger
We’re big Oasis fans at Indelible. (Well — one of us is.) We were first in line for tour merch when we got to see them, but even we stopped short of buying these “signed” lyric sheets: https://circa.art/products/oasis/
They’re stamp-signed by Liam and Noel - which, to be fair, could still have been done with our ink - and at least they include a certificate of authenticity.
A friend of Indelible splashed out after a gig and proudly sent us a photo when theirs arrived… which only highlighted the problem. If someone has gone to the trouble of faking the lyric sheet, faking the certificate that “proves” it is hardly a stretch. Paper says anything you want it to say. Molecules… don’t.
The autopen isn’t mightier than the sword
To America, where the debate around autopen signatures has reached a full-blown furore. We’re not diving into the politics... a million column inches have already been sacrificed, and millions more will be. And the chances of discussing it without upsetting someone are about as slim as the chances of anyone hacking Indelible’s tech (read: near zero).
But among the noise, may we quietly raise a hand and note: if you want to know who signed something, when, and how, we have something in the wings that will clear all that up. Whether that wing is left or right everyone claims to be on the side of truth. Well we can be the arbiter of that truth.
Until the next fake, keep it real with Indelible House.