SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A tech-savvy young San Francisco man who staged his own mock beheading on the Internet duped international media on Saturday into believing Islamist kidnappers had executed an American hostage in Iraq.
Vanderford said he distributed the staged video on Kazaa and other Internet peer-to-peer networks which are popular swapping forums for films, music and software. He said if his staged death appeared on any terror-related Web sites it was the work of others who found the video on the peer-to-peer networks.
Vanderford, 22, said he worked at branch of Wells Fargo bank. A college drop-out, he was a candidate for the local city council earlier this year but had since dropped out of the race. His Web site also says he is a video game programer and works with a local record label. Vanderford expressed the hope that his stunt would not affect his bank job.
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