Last Hacker Joke Of The Decade

I was interested in this story for a couple of reasons. First, I am a huge fan of Van Morrison (pictured). I don't just think he's a good singer, but one of the best singers in the world. Second, this may be the last hacker joke of the last decade (to be widely covered by news agencies). It all started with the following news blurb:

LOS ANGELES — A new Van Morrison has been born.

The Irish singer says on his Web site that he and his wife, GiGi, welcomed their son, George Ivan Morrison III, on Monday.

The couple says that "Little Van" is "the spitting image of his daddy." The baby is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom.

No other information was available. Morrison's publicist, Phil Lobel, says the exact time and location of the birth is being kept private.

News agencies, including the Associated Press, picked up the story and soon it was big news that the 64 year-old singer was a new father. But there are a few things wrong with the story.

First, Morrison's wife is not named GiGi, but Michelle. His American agent is named GiGi. Second, neither has had a baby, and no one else has had a baby fathered by Van Morrison recently.

Morrison does have an American publicist named Phil Lobel, and it was Lobel who released the story to the press. He said he saw the birth announcement on Morrison's web site and decided it needed some publicity. He verified the story to the media without checking with Morrison.

The reclusive Morrison was going to just ignore the story, but close friends talked him into releasing a statement correcting the erroneous story. In the statement, Morrison says he remains "very happily married" to his wife Michelle.

It went on to say, "Once the claims were brought to our attention, they were taken down from the site but not before news organizations repeated these falsehoods. The comments which appeared on my web site did not come from me. They are completely and utterly without foundation."

Spokesmen for the singer said the web site is being redesigned, since this is the second time it has been hacked since October.