An anonymous Twitter user whose supposed "leaks" of the 2012 Lollapalooza headliners captured the attention of eager festival-goers and news outlets alike (yep, us too) took to a Tumblr account of the same name Monday to confess that the lineup he leaked was fabricated.
On Feb. 11, @LollaLeaks baited festival founder Perry Farrell on Twitter before posting what he said were the August music festival's headliners: Metallica, Beyonce, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, Beck and Sonic Youth. In the days that followed, @LollaLeaks named and "confirmed" other bands, gaining up to 2,000 followers before posting his mea culpa:
Luckily, I have an explanation for this whole thing…I've been f***ing with you this whole time. I started @LollaLeaks as a bit of an experiment. Could one "anonymous" person throw a random lineup on the internet and get people to believe it?
Many news outlets and blogs didn't believe it: Gaper's Block's Andrew Huff called @LollaLeaks' picks "not likely," and WBEZ's Jim DeRogatis, who has sparred with Farrell on lineup leaks before, questioned @LollaLeaks' authenticity but called the ensuing feud between the two "more original and entertaining than about a third of the bands on the final bill are likely to be."
In their Twitter standoff, Farrell and @LollaLeaks exchanged insults, including one Tweet where Farrell said the person behind the account "must have a small penis."
The Lolla Leaks Tumblr page apologized to some fans, bands and festival affiliates in Monday's blog post, but also chastised unnamed journalists he claims reported his lineup as fact:
Part of me does feel bad. I’m sure I got some of your hopes about a lineup that I, for one, would love to see happen. But, at the same time, it’s hard for me to sympathize with people who take information from an anonymous stranger seriously. Anyone can start a blog/Twitter account and post lies.
While the 2012 leaker turned out to be someone with too much time on their hands, leaks in the past have turned out to be accurate. In February of 2010 and 2011, leaks of the Lollapalooza lineup that circulated on Facebook and Twitter turned out to be accurate.