Unrest is brewing among fans of “American Idol” after reports of possible election tampering. Here’s how it went down, allegedly: a few AT&T employees supplied phones and vote-bombing guidance at texting parties organised in support of eventual winner Kris Allen.
This is totally uncorrelated a huge deal, according to the NYT, who managed to report nearly 400 words on this story without making a single joke. They even pestered Fox and AT&T for statements on the issue, getting the cold shoulder from the network and this response from the carrier:
In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organised by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.
Oh god. This goes all the way to the top, people. [NYT]
Setting record straight
May 28, 2009 at 7:19 AM
Though it doesn’t appear that AT&T provided such services to Lambert fans, the power texting technique was also encouraged in San Diego, his hometown. Fliers were distributed to fans there the weekend of his visit, instructing voters on how to power text. One flier instructs fans on how send “between 3K-5K votes in 2 hours — by power texting 10 votes at a time,” and another one encouraged fans to buy a phone and an unlimited texting plan to “send 3K votes easily.”
Meanwhile, a source tells PEOPLE, more than 5,000 fans were given fliers at a rally for Lambert at Mt. Carmel High School, where the Idol runner-up attended. – By Monica Rizzo
Report Permalink