User:Vivisel/cohen cruse ruse

I've created this page to track what I'm calling (because why not give it a name) the "Cohen-Cruse Ruse".

A little background: a number of apparent sock puppets seem to be creating an elaborate set of fake pages around a few members of a "Cohen" and a "Cruse" family. It involves a number of completely (very carefully) faked biographies, other faked things (like synagogues) and a lot of associated edits to real pages that attempt to justify and contextualize those fake people. It seems to me very carefully done and will take some serious attention to figure out what's real and what's not, which is why I'm creating this page. Contributions welcome.

Modus operandi
Many accounts and IPs are involved, which take turns in editing, making the edit histories of the fake or compromised articles look respectable. Many of the involved accounts also make apparently serious and productive edits, and have even created valuable articles, but interspersed this with edits adding fake information. Some seem even to have made only good edits, but can still be identified as being involved.

The perpetrator is careful in selecting fake information that appears entirely plausible and is rich in equally plausible detail. Most edits would never have raised suspicion by themselves; it is only as part of a pattern that they appear dubious. Also, the fake information is consistently applied across articles: if the article on a fake person A states he is the son of an existing person B, then the article on B will have been edited (probably by what looks like another editor) to state that B is the father of A.

The refutation of some of the fake information is confounded by the fact that some of the dates given for some events are older and harder to research (of course, if it is not cited, it should most likely be tagged and deleted anyway). If any citations are given, they may be offline citations that make it difficult for many editors to deny (or even confirm). This lets the info stay longer than it would usually as in the case of Debrett's being used as a reference (which didn't actually have the info cited).

Some fake pictures have also been uploaded to the Commons and been used to illustrate the fake articles.

The named accounts are almost all throw-away accounts: they edit for one day on one article and are not used again. The anonymous IPs mostly appear on several days and work on several articles.

A curiosity is the recurring use of the title "Overview" in refs inserted by the perpetrator, as seen here: Not only do these cites share a meaningless title, they also typically use where  would be appropriate, and have a pair "work = ... | publisher = ..." that is largely duplicative.

Another propensity of the hoaxer is the unjustified removal of tags such as, as exemplified here.

A tell-tale sign is vacillation on details: information on a temple supposedly located in Charlotte is added, next thing you know it has been teleported to Salisbury. Or see this succession of changes for a good example: (1872–1926) → (1872–1946) → (1898–1946) → (1813-1884).

The perpetrator is obviously well informed about traditional Judaism, particularly in the United States. There is also a side interest in winemaking (which seems to go beyond the Cruse family), podiatry, and specifically the Alpha Gamma Kappa Fraternity.

Thoughts on motivation: This is definitely more than a bit speculative, and doesn't really bear on the investigation or actions taken, but I keep thinking about it, so why not share: my theory on all of this is that someone in the Cohen family basically wanted to engineer noble heritage for him or herself. That's what I can't help but think it all comes down to. The creation of a robust, community-minded family in NC, installation of the progenitors in the French and English nobility - it just is so directed and single-minded! Plus, the Temple Emanu-el coincidences described in the below section are intriguing on this front... Vivisel (talk) 21:10, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

To be investigated
Pages that may be compromised, but the status is unclear:
 * Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim - Created by Nola jew with same issues as others in this hoax. Need to check article, but believe this is entirely made up. Uses the same Jonathan Cohen, etc. -- JoannaSerah (talk) 08:32, 1 January 2012 (UTC)
 * This actually appears to be legit - . - The Bushranger One ping only 11:10, 1 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Good find. It's just that the edits and the subjects had so many similarities to the other hoax articles. Could they really be editing something real now? Possibly. Will have to keep watch. We knew Jonathan Cohen to be a real person, but he kept appearing in so many different places uncited. Hopefully these edits stay correct. Thank you. -- JoannaSerah (talk) 14:26, 1 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, the Synagogue is real. The Synagogue's Wikipedia page was edited by its president on 12-14-12 to reflect that Jonathan Lester Cohen/Cruse was terminated as Rabbi on 12-12-12.
 * I've reverted these edits as lacking evidence. The IP geolocates to Alexandria, LA but there's no sign of this on the congregation's website. I'll check back some time later, but this message was posted by the same IP and I see no particular reason to beleive that this message was posted by Ms. Wellan. Mangoe (talk) 13:38, 16 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Mangoe, our congregation's webmaster has been asked to remove the JLC bio page, but it has not been done yet. I assure you, Jonathan Lester Cohen / Jonathan Lester Cruse is no longer with the Congregation, terminated as of 12-12-12. I am not a regular user/editor, but found this dialogue (Vivisel/cohen cruse ruse) while investigating our "rabbi's" history.
 * I edited the article with an actual citation to remove Cohen as current rabbi. Discussion about info on that article should really take place on that article's talk page unless it really has something to do with the broader hoax of this discussion page. Thank you. -- JoannaSerah (talk) 00:22, 19 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Shaare Shalom Synagogue - see . The article is suspect because it was created by a suspect editor and apparently fake information was inserted by another suspect (and removed by yet another suspect IP). However, I ( --Lambiam) see no disinformation on the current page.
 * The synagogue is real, and I found a historical page on their website agianst which claims can be checked. Mangoe (talk) 01:48, 25 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Temple Beth Elohim (Georgetown, South Carolina) - Ajupage; claimed to be founded by Cohens...
 * The info in the article is almost entirely taken from the temple website. The sourcing stinks but there's no sign of hoax in the current text. Mangoe (talk) 16:45, 26 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Temple Emanu-El (Miami Beach, Florida) - created by User:Aju lion; the synagogue exists (thank you, Google Maps Street View), but hark, in the "leadership" column, here comes another Cohen...
 * The Staff page of the Temple does list a Jonathan Cohen as executive director. --Lambiam 16:01, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * And look at this - Special:Contributions/67.90.7.162 (now blocked, a prime mover in the hoaxing) emanates from precisely that temple. Not saying this means it's fake, necessarily - just very interesting! Vivisel (talk) 21:14, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It turns out that the Jonathan Cohen mentioned in the Temple Emanu-El (Miami Beach, Florida) article and the one in the Temple Kol Ami (Fort Mill, South Carolina) article are the same person: "He splits his time between the two temples and his rabbinical studies." In either case the name appears already in the first version of the article. --Lambiam 22:44, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Entirely fake
Pages that are known to be fake and should be deleted:
 * Currently empty.

Resolved
Articles deleted:
 * Baron Cruse-Cohen
 * Beth Sadeh Synagogue
 * Jean Alexandre Cohen
 * Jonathan Cohen (vintner)
 * Sephardic Temple Adat David
 * Sir David Cohen
 * Stephen B. Jacobsohn

Articles that were compromised as part of the ruse, but have been cleaned up:
 * Abiathar Crescas - uncited dubious statement from one of our problem editors that I was unable to verify (see ) - fixed Mangoe (talk)
 * Bordeaux - see - fixed: "Jean Alexandre Cohen" removed
 * Charlotte, North Carolina - see: fixed by removing entire edit which added bogus synagogue Mangoe (talk) 23:14, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Cohen (surname) - see - fixed: "Jean Alexandre Cohen" and "Sir David Cohen" removed
 * Crescas - fixed: reference to Cruse family removed
 * Cruse - fixed long time ago
 * Cruse (name) - see and ; fixed: fake claims of Jewishness of Cruse family removed, as well as bogus etymologies originally planted in Cruse and copied over by good-faith editors. There was also an earlier compromised version of this article, created by Jlcruse sock Special:Contributions/Jonboy322, which was deleted 4 June 2008, 00:13 (expired PROD).
 * Cruse family - thoroughly cleaned up; needs some more regular work, but fake information is gone
 * David Cohen - fixed: entry for "Sir David" removed
 * Frank Birnbaum - fixed: "Jonathan Cohen (vintner)" removed; tagged with and .  Fixed again to remove another (new) reference to Jonathan Cohen in 12/2012.  (See .)
 * Henriques family - fixed
 * Jonathan Cohen - fixed, removed JC (vintner)
 * List of European Jewish nobility - fixed; three references to Cruse family removed
 * List of French Jews - fixed; references to Cruses removed here
 * List of hereditary baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom - fixed: "Cruse-Cohen" entry removed
 * List of Privy Counsellors (1952–present) - see - fixed: "Sir David Cohen" removed
 * Litany - see ; fixed
 * Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina - see - fixed
 * Minhag - see ; fixed
 * Mocatta - see - fixed
 * Nusach - see ; fixed
 * Old Stone Vineyard and Winery - cleaned up so that it corresponds to the actual winery's website, though early versions contained Cruse nonsense
 * Peerage of the United Kingdom (I don't see any problematic edits here)
 * Rothschild banking family of France - see: - fixed: list has been cleaned up
 * Rowan County, North Carolina - see fixed Mangoe (talk) 01:37, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
 * RSC Brands - copyvio courtesy of user:Southern jew, scrubbed by User:DGG
 * Salisbury, North Carolina - see and ;  fixed by removing the offending section Mangoe (talk) 01:52, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Scotia-Mocatta - see: - fixed
 * Shaare Shalom Synagogue - a bogus Cruse and some other damage - fixed
 * Spanish and Portuguese Jews - This article has lots of information on it. Most is probably correct, but not certain what is true or not. Beth Sadeh Synagogue was added to it as being in Charlotte, NC. fixed seems to be only one edit from our problem group
 * Temple Kol Ami (Fort Mill, South Carolina) - Created by 67.90.7.162 and has a Cohen strongly involved - but he's mentioned in the local newspaper source, so appears legit. - The Bushranger One ping only 22:33, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Usernames involved

 * Special:Contributions/Aju lion – is it on purpose that this sounds like "a Jew lyin'"?
 * That sounds very likely to me; also these Commons discussions may very well be of interest...!


 * Special:Contributions/British buff - indef'd
 * commons:Special:Log/British jew - image uploader at Wikimedia commons
 * commons:Special:Log/Charlottean jew - image uploader at Wikimedia commons
 * Special:Contributions/Cantor jts - although I ( --Lambiam) have not identified any obviously fake edits by this account, it seems to be in on the joke; see
 * Special:Contributions/Jlcruse - Possibly related to 75.85.88.91 and other IPs. This acct was blocked for sock puppetry and abuse. They edited many articles related to podiatry and secret societies. Some of the other IPs listed below also edited those, but once Jlcruse was blocked, those IPs turned to this hoax. Don't know if it is same person, but possibly related. -- JoannaSerah (talk) 17:17, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * commons:Special:Log/Cantor jts - image and ogg file uploader at Wikimedia commons
 * commons:Special:Log/Jubu - image uploader at Wikimedia commons
 * Special:Contributions/Kwilksalisbury - indef'd
 * Special:Contributions/Medoc wine - maybe uninvolved? depends whether Sephardic Temple Adat David turns put to be a hoax
 * I'd say clearly involved, given that he included in the [ initial edit] File:Adat David.jpg, which shows the old Jewish temple in Alexandria, Louisiana. Lupo 21:32, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Indef'd. - The Bushranger One ping only 23:02, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Special:Contributions/Miamibeachjew - indef'd
 * Special:Contributions/Moc_trojan
 * Special:Contributions/Nola jew - Re-inserted Jewishness in Cruse family article and created Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim with same issues as previous hoax articles.
 * Special:Contributions/Southern jew - indef'd
 * Special:Contributions/Wine france - I ( --Lambiam) did not spot any actual vandalism by this account, but it is used to edit the same set of pages, which include, curious enough, Podiatry and related articles. Postscript. In retrospect I don't understand how I can have missed the obvious vandalism by this account, since its very first edit introduced the false claim that the Cruse family were Ashkenazim. --Lambiam 21:41, 16 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Special:Contributions/67.90.7.162 - blocked 3 months
 * Special:Contributions/68.213.171.193 - edits on Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim
 * Special:Contributions/69.84.121.52 - blocked 3 months
 * Special:Contributions/69.96.20.15 - edits concerning the name "Cruse"
 * Special:Contributions/69.96.30.137
 * Special:Contributions/72.13.146.28
 * Special:Contributions/72.13.146.217
 * Special:Contributions/72.28.221.178
 * Special:Contributions/74.10.52.11 - see e.g.
 * Special:Contributions/75.85.88.91 - this one seems to be innocent Mangoe (talk) 03:16, 26 October 2011 (UTC).
 * I don't think so; see e.g. – how would this editor know the official name of a fake synagogue? This IP edits the same set of pages (up to even Podiatry; cf. Special:Contributions/Wine france) as the others; see also  introducing the same (existing) Blumenthal family as found in RSC Brands created by user:Southern jew.  --Lambiam 16:20, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The Blumenthal family in question is real; the RSC copyvio came form the corporate website, and they also show up in one of the real synagogue websites. I think what happened in this case was that the bogus synagogue link was put in wrong, and was fixed by searching for the name and having the article show up in Google. I can see myself doing the same thing. It looks to me as though they did a bunch of cleanup and happened to stumble across hoax pages due to common interests. I could of course be wrong, but I haven't seen a edit of theirs that I needed malice to explain. Mangoe (talk) 16:28, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * That is what is so difficult to determine: their motivations. Hard to know since many edits did not have any edit summaries. I can understand someone running across info in one article and copying it over to another that was related. Without citations, it shouldn't have been done, but that may have been a good faith edit. We just can't know. With it editing many of the same articles, though, it still seems suspicious. Would I block them? probably not. That said, please look at user:Jlcruse above. JoannaSerah (talk) 17:17, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It fits precisely with what is stated above under Modus operandi: "Some seem even to have made only good edits, but can still be identified as being involved." The probability that an uninvolved editor would accidentally edit just the same apparently unrelated set of pages (like Alpha Gamma Kappa Fraternity ‎, Cruse family, Old Stone Vineyard and Winery, and various Jewish temples) as the hoaxer is negligeable. And the IP address is in the same CIDR block 75.80.0.0/13 allocated to Road Runner HoldCo LLC as the next IP on this list, which is indubitably involved in this ruse. --Lambiam 22:50, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Hmmm...Yes. You are right. It would be highly improbable to have so many edits related to the hoax and not somehow be party to it. I'd support any measures you all think are appropriate. -- JoannaSerah (talk) 23:51, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
 * And now I. D. Blumenthal makes his appearance in an article written by Jonathan Cohen (of Temple Kol Ami and Temple Emanu-El) for the Spring 2010 Bulletin of the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. --Lambiam 23:43, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Special:Contributions/75.85.126.197
 * Special:Contributions/75.202.45.89
 * Special:Contributions/75.202.45.122
 * Special:Contributions/75.202.81.29
 * Special:Contributions/75.202.111.229
 * Special:Contributions/75.202.198.66
 * Special:Contributions/75.203.23.44
 * Special:Contributions/75.203.27.180
 * Special:Contributions/75.203.230.159
 * Special:Contributions/75.204.78.56
 * Special:Contributions/75.204.78.161
 * Special:Contributions/75.204.84.92
 * Special:Contributions/75.204.111.51
 * Special:Contributions/75.204.175.193
 * Special:Contributions/75.224.27.107
 * Special:Contributions/75.225.209.192
 * Special:Contributions/76.89.129.121
 * Special:Contributions/76.174.15.246
 * Special:Contributions/98.215.11.159
 * Special:Contributions/174.140.107.253 - geolocated at Miami Beach
 * Special:Contributions/173.217.198.166 - geolocated to Alexandria, LA

All articles touched
The following is a list of all extant articles edited by any of the editors on the preceding list, regardless of status. For articles that have been edited using several accounts (including IPs), the number of accounts involved is given in parenthesis.


 * Abiathar Crescas
 * Alexandria, Louisiana
 * Alfred Uhry
 * Allied health professions
 * Alpha Gamma Kappa Fraternity (7)
 * American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (2)
 * American Podiatric Medical Association
 * Arendell Parrott Academy
 * Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia
 * B'nai Israel
 * Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine
 * Beaufort, North Carolina
 * Beaufort, South Carolina
 * Beth Elohim
 * Beth Israel Congregation (Beaufort, South Carolina) (3)
 * Beth Israel Congregation (Florence, South Carolina)
 * Bicker
 * Birnbaum (2)
 * Bordeaux
 * Brandeis-Bardin Institute
 * California School of Podiatric Medicine (2)
 * Canadian Pointer
 * Charlie Sheen
 * Charlotte, North Carolina (4)
 * Château d'Issan
 * Claude Montefiore
 * Cohen (surname)
 * Collegiate secret societies in North America (5)
 * Congregation Beth Israel (New Orleans, Louisiana)
 * Congregation Emanuel (Statesville, North Carolina)


 * Congregation Shaare Zedek (New York City) (2)
 * Craig Taubman
 * Crescas
 * Cruse (4)
 * Cruse (name) (5)
 * Cruse family (11)
 * David Cohen
 * David Garrard (2)
 * David Wolpe
 * Deep Rising
 * Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery
 * Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine (3)
 * East Carolina University (3)
 * East Carolina University Greek life
 * Eating club
 * Emilio Estevez
 * Emmanuel Cruse II (3)
 * Frank Birnbaum (3)
 * Georgetown, South Carolina
 * Grand Synagogue of Paris
 * Greenville, North Carolina
 * Harry Hlavac
 * Henriques
 * Henriques family (2)
 * History of the Jews in Jamaica
 * House of Peace Synagogue
 * Indian Trail, North Carolina
 * James B. Black
 * James Maynard
 * Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
 * Jewish liturgy
 * Jewish religious movements
 * Jonathan Cohen (2)
 * Joseph Telushkin
 * Kabbalah Centre
 * Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)
 * Kinston, North Carolina (2)
 * List of Battle School students
 * List of European Jewish nobility
 * List of French Jews


 * List of Privy Counsellors (1952–present)
 * List of hereditary baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
 * List of synagogues named Temple Israel
 * Litany
 * Marc Basnight
 * Martin Sheen
 * Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina (3)
 * Minhag
 * MOC
 * Mocatta (2)
 * Mount Olive College (2)
 * New York College of Podiatric Medicine
 * Nido Qubein
 * North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center (2)
 * Nusach
 * Ohel Leah Synagogue
 * Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine
 * Old Stone Vineyard and Winery (7)
 * Omega Upsilon
 * Park Avenue Synagogue (4)
 * Podiatric medical school (2)
 * Podiatry (5)
 * Professional fraternities and sororities
 * Professional Fraternity Association
 * Rabbi
 * Radiator Specialty Company
 * Rashi
 * Robert Burren Morgan
 * Rothschild banking family of France
 * Rowan County, North Carolina
 * RSC
 * RSC Brands (2)
 * Salisbury, North Carolina (4)
 * Scotia-Mocatta
 * Scott Thomas (district attorney) (2)


 * Secret societies at the University of Virginia
 * Sephardic law and customs
 * Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel (2)
 * Sepharidc Temple Tifereth Israel
 * Seven Society
 * Shaare Shalom Synagogue (7)
 * Sheep (song)
 * Shreveport, Louisiana
 * Sinai Temple (Los Angeles, California)
 * South Beach
 * Spanish and Portuguese Jews (4)
 * Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Synagogue
 * Synagogue de Nazareth
 * Temple Beth Elohim (Georgetown, South Carolina) (2)
 * Temple Emanu-El (Miami Beach, Florida) (6)
 * Temple Israel
 * Temple Israel (Charlotte, North Carolina) (4)
 * Temple Israel (Kinston, NC)
 * Temple Israel (Kinston, North Carolina)
 * Temple Kol Ami (Fort Mill, South Carolina) (4)
 * Temple Sinai (Sumter, South Carolina)
 * Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine
 * The Cruse Winemaking Family
 * The Fraternity
 * Torah ark
 * William Scholl
 * Wilshire Boulevard Temple
 * Wine fraud (2)
 * Women in the workforce

Other relevant pages

 * Sockpuppet investigations/Southern jew
 * Articles for deletion/Stephen B. Jacobsohn
 * Articles for deletion/Baron Cruse-Cohen
 * Articles for deletion/Jonathan Cohen (vintner)

Wikipedians involved in fixing this

 * User:Vivisel
 * User:JoannaSerah
 * User:JohnCD
 * User:Lambiam
 * User:Mangoe

2017 update: possible additional hoax material
Mirroring this content I posted on Lambiam's page here as well.

I monitor the Cruse family page and happened to notice an edit (subsequently reverted) that changed "protestant family" to "Jewish family". Naturally, given past events, my ears perked up.

And what do you know, the user who made the original edit is from Florida, and has edited pages for NC synagogues: Special:Contributions/66.64.215.170. A brief review of the user's edits led me to think that most of them are OK, but I found one that is suspect: see this one, the unsourced addition of a Cohen banking family and a Cohen Count. Further poking around reveals that a different user, Special:Contributions/71.68.11.108 has added this same new Monegasque Count Cohen to the Court Jew page. (Diff here.) That same user has a number of edits that seem to attempt to link this Cohen to the Rothschilds. Moreover, the user also made this troubling edit, removing sourced material about the same Jonathan Cohen who was tied up in the ruse the first time.

So I fear we're back in business. I don't have time to deal with this right now, but I should in the next week or so. I am not deleting any of this just yet because it will be easier for me to track, but I figured I'd write it down, and writing you a note about it is a good way to record my thoughts. Luckily, I don't think our hoaxer is nearly as active or aggressive this time around. But - heads up.

--Vivisel (talk) 22:09, 17 January 2017 (UTC)