Baghdad Burning

Many of you are probably familiar with the Where is Raed? blog, by Salaam Pax, the “Baghdad Blogger.” He’s the best-known one, but not the only one. Another is Baghdad Burning. And, fascinatingly, there is a another site, also called Baghdad Burning (note the one-letter difference in the URL), with an identical layout but a distinctly pro-American slant and a distinctly different blogroll. It’s propaganda. If it isn’t being put out by the U.S. government, it is being done by someone keeping a close eye on the play-by-play, with plenty of time to spare and information on hand. Interestingly, the copycat blog appears to predate the authentic one (blog entries can be back-dated). The copycat appears to have unthinkingly copied irrelevant bits of the original’s template, including a link to “squawkbox.tv”, a comment-hosting service. Neither site currently uses the service; the legit site doesn’t have the link on the current page; the copycat does.

Update: There’s a blog tracking the copycat blog.