On the solemn anniversary of September 11, a day meant for solemn remembrance and respect, Newsmax’s America Right Now was blindsided by a crude stunt when an impostor posing as former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz phoned in and used the occasion to attack the network on live air. The caller went so far as to say Newsmax posed a greater threat to America than the 9/11 hijackers, forcing Tom Basile and his panel to cut the exchange short amid stunned disbelief. This was not a harmless prank — it was an intentional effort to disrupt a tribute to the fallen and to bait a conservative outlet into a viral moment.
The man behind the hoax is Andy Bichlbaum of the activist troupe The Yes Men, and this wasn’t a one-off: he had allegedly tricked the same show into an 11-minute on-air interview weeks earlier by pretending to be associated with Wolfowitz. That earlier encounter should have been a red flag for producers, yet the same group managed to get patched through again during a day of national mourning, exposing sloppy vetting and a willingness by media elites to stage stunts. Conservative viewers are right to be furious — this was a calculated attempt to humiliate a network that dares to challenge the media consensus.
Make no mistake: what happened was an act of contempt toward the families of 9/11 victims, the first responders who gave their lives, and every patriotic American who honors that terrible day. Left-wing pranksters who cloak their nihilism in “activism” have shown, time and again, that they care more about headlines than decency, and they will gladly exploit any forum available to mock our institutions. Conservatives understand the sacred duty of memory; this stunt was an assault on that duty and on the dignity of those who served.
Tom Basile and his colleagues on Newsmax were trying to hold a space for remembrance and sober reflection, and the network rightly condemned the deceitful tactics as dishonoring to heroes and their families. Newsmax’s producers were put in a difficult spot by a group that specializes in deception, but blaming the victim is a tired tactic of the coastal elites who never face the same attacks they dish out. Americans deserve media that will stand firm in the face of harassment, vet sources seriously, and not cower when confronted with perfidy.
This episode should compel a simple, commonsense response: call the pranksters to account, strengthen booking and verification procedures, and stop treating outrage as entertainment. There ought to be consequences for those who purposefully hijack solemn public discourse for cheap provocation — whether civil, professional, or legal — so that patriotism and respect for sacrifice are not weaponized for a laugh. If the left’s stunt culture thinks it can silence dissenting voices by creating chaos, they are badly mistaken; every attack only steels the resolve of Americans who believe in honor, service, and truth.
Hardworking patriots across this country know what matters: family, faith, and fidelity to the flag — not viral pranks designed to humiliate and divide. We stand with those who seek to remember the fallen with reverence, and we will not let the cultural elite or their street-theater allies turn our sacred days into a spectacle. Let this be a reminder that conservative media will keep doing the hard work of telling the truth and preserving memory, no matter how many cheap stunts the other side dreams up.
