Online hoax announces UC President Mark Yudof’s resignation
By Shoshee Jau
March 3, 2010 10:02 p.m.
A hoax Web site, feigning ownership by University of California President Mark Yudof, falsely announced Yudof’s decision to resign from his position in the UC system.
The site, created March 2, includes a letter allegedly written by Yudof, dated March 4, detailing his reasons to resign. The letter states that recent changes to public education have caused the president to reevaluate his understanding of social movements, and that he intends to return to school to better understand the issue.
Yudof responded to the site through a Twitter post stating, “Imposter website claims I have resigned. Complete nonsense. Reports of my resignation have been greatly exaggerated,” alluding to a quote by writer Mark Twain after his obituary was mistakenly published in the New York Journal.
Online directories indicate that the site, markyudof.com, is not registered under a student’s name. Regardless of the site’s origin, the president’s office remains unconcerned, said UC spokesman Peter King.
“It’s not even April Fool’s Day, so we’re at a loss,” he said. “But it’s no big deal, and we’ve got more important things on our agenda.”
Similar incidents have occurred in the past, but none have been seriously addressed, according to UC spokesman Steve Montiel.
“We’ll take appropriate steps to protect (Yudof’s) name on the Web,” Montiel said. “This seems to be the act of a knucklehead.”
