"Aviation security expert" Steven Frischling brags about getting knife through airport security

Steven Frischling, referred to as an "aviation security expert" by The Telegraph, tweeted this image a a month ago of him holding a knife on the tarmac/apron:

When would he take a knife, even a Swiss Army knife, to an airport, much less take a photo of it like this? (Note the response to his picture.)

What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Frischling claimed he knew "unequivocally" what happened to MH370 four hours after it disappeared

In March 2014, a journalist unable to Google named Joanna Walters referred to Steven Frischling as an "aviation security expert" in an article in The Telegraph on the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

Even more laughable, Frischling claims his "primary source" told him "unequivocally" the pilot had hijacked the plane!

Positions on the plane! His primary source! Christ on a cracker. His primary source has always been his imagination.

And he insisted the plane had not crashed and that cargo is what they were after. Keep in mind this article was from March 18, 2014, 10 days after the plane vanished. Not a single reliable expert was saying they knew without a doubt what had happened to the plane and why; there were only theories. Yet Frischling, thanks to his super secret primary super source, claims he had been told it had been hijacked. How is that nobody found that suspicious? Did his primary source tell nobody else this information, only Frischling, four hours after it disappeared?

If you look at the timeline of MH370, anyone with a clue would be able to tell he was full of shit. "Four hours after the airplane went missing" is when? It goes missing at several points along its route. By the time the airline made the announcement, the plane had already failed to land in Beijing and had been missing for hours. So when then, did this amazing source rush to tell Steven Frischling, unemployed blogger who tweets all day, that they knew "unequivocally" the pilot had hijacked the plane and how would they possibly know that? Was his source the pilot himself? Why would they tell him this and not someone who mattered?

Great job Joanna Walters!

Frischling goes on eBay shopping spree with GoFundMe donations

Everyone's "favourite" honest hardworking photographer/social media god/aviation security expert Steven Frischling apparently told a few people he needed money because the evil mother of his children (who we are rooting for more and more) was trying to "break him" financially during their custody case.

Thus he regaled his friends with tragic fishtales of his valiant struggle and how much of a victim he is. An imaginative commentator claims:

She filed frivolous motions and she has failed the children as a mother? Some evidence, please. Which of the two parents is perpetually unemployed? Which of the two parents pleaded guilty to two felonies? Which of the two parents has been sued for fraud? Which of the parents is a pathological liar who spends all day every day making up stories to anyone who will listen?

In Frischling's ridiculous GoFundMe, there was a donation made under her name:

Apparently Frischling's real friends suckers Frischling knows online put that in as an oh-so-funny inside joke related to his current predicament in which he, naturally, is a victim:

His ex spends so much money on things not related to the children that she hypothetically "can only spend $15 for the kids," you say? Meanwhile, Frischling is the responsible parent who needed donations to bring his family through a tough time, right?

Ah now what do have here? Why, it's Steven Frischling's eBay history over the past year. And guess how many purchases he made during the last 12 months? 48 total purchases, of which 33 were in the past six months, and two in the past month. Therefore, we can deduce that the vast majority of the purchases happened from one to six months ago. In fact, his purchasing activity from approximately February to July DOUBLED over the previous time span. Well now that's odd, since he was spending everything he had on legal bills and taking care of his children, right? Food and shelter were the important priorities, right? How strange that during the time he was supposedly struggling financially, he was buying, buying, buying on eBay!

And what was he buying? Things necessary for his job? No. As you can see from the sellers on his profile, he was buying mostly computer electronics and two-way radio equipment.

What do two-way radios have to do with his job as a social media consultant? Nothing. You need a computer and a phone for that. If he needed one for local news photography, he very clearly already had the equipment he needed.

An excellent reader points out that 14 weeks ago, about a month after the GoFundMe, Frischling posted this on Instagram:

That appears to be a new or near-new Motorola XTS3000 Model II. So he came home to find a few of these, ay? Here is the same model currently for sale on eBay for $200.

Why would he need a few of them? Why would he need even ONE? He doesn't. He no doubt will claim that they were sent to him by the manufacturer or someone free of charge because he is so important. Bullshit. He bought it on eBay with the money people gave him.

Also note that Frischling does not sell anything on eBay (or has sold fewer than 10 items ever). Which sure is odd, because you would think that before he asks strangers to give him money, he would be frequently selling off old equipment he doesn't need, right? Why not sell off some of the equipment he doesn't need anymore?

So all of you supportive people who donated to Frischling thinking it would help feed and shelter his children and pets, congratulations, thanks for helping him buy electronics (that he didn't need) for himself. Yeah, because everyone social media consultant needs to own two MacBooks, three iPads, and four smart phones.

Happy lying!

LOL..... Steven Frischling's GoFundMe campaign!

Everybody's favorite social media consultant Steven E. Frischling has a GoFundMe campaign that's total bullshit! (Campaign taken offline after we posted this, but archived at https://archive.is/ZnlnS)

"Let's help those who help"? Who has Steven Frischling ever helped? Did he help the people who sued him for fraud (and won) get their wedding day photographs?

The page has a photo of a fire and says "A couple of public safety officers had their own home damaged by a 2 alarm fire." Note there are NO details whatsoever about who, when and where this occurred.

The GoFundMe page in fact was set up in May by Sean Roebuck from Henderson, Nevada, who works in billing at a county airport department and faps nonstop to Frischling's fake adventures. Who knows what sad story was there to get people to donate $2,395 to someone who pleads guilty to forgery and larceny, and owes money to people who sued him and won judgements.

Feeding the hungry? When does it look like Fish went without a meal? Sheep and Bozo are his pets apparently. You can buy a lot of pet food with $5,000.

24 people gave money, some who may not have known the recipient was Frischling. Why would a social media expert whose clients include the world's top airlines be so incredibly broke he can't even buy food?

Do you think the people whose home was actually damaged in the fire would like to know their misfortune is being used to go to benefit someone like Steven E. Frischling? That's a real photo of a real house on fire. Check out this article from local newspaper ''The Day'' and look at the photo credit. Oh what a coincidence, photos by Steven Frischling. Frischling also posted a few photos from this fire on his Instagram. He even captions it as a "2 alarm" fire. Look familiar?

What do you think the homeowners would think of that? They have set up a fundraiser of their own! They really are people who help people. Please donate to them if you can: https://www.youcaring.com/lou-and-heather-racicot-419023


Frischling photographed someone's house on fire, then took the picture and their story and put it on his fundraiser, to benefit himself. It seems likely Frischling felt he deserved more money and thought the "two public safety officers" story would help people open up their wallets.

It is against the policy of GoFundMe to include fraudulent information in a campaign. Click the envelope icon next Sean Roebuck's name and report this fraud. (Already removed)

Frischling then held a pity party on Twitter over the demise of his scheme.

Why would you have to take it down if it's a legitimate fundraiser? It was taken down within minutes of this blog going up. Why would you have to find "another way to do that" if this one was honest?

Happy Lying!

Steven Frischling won't stop lying about Hurricane Katrina

A decade ago today, Hurricane Katrina turned into a Category 5 nightmare that left death, devastation and $100+ billion of damage in Louisiana, Mississippi, and surrounding states. The images of the destruction, particularly in flooded New Orleans, were heartbreaking and unforgettable. But that was then, and 10 years later it's time to take a look at the dramatic tales of Katrina suffering endured by one Steven E. Frischling, an unusual photographer who somehow always manages to be present at the scene retroactively and never produces any photos he brags he took. No tragedy is too horrific to exploit so long as Frischling's fantasies get fleeting attention from online strangers who won't remember them.

We already did a Katrina post several years ago laughing at his claims of being the only person sickened by "airborne pathogens" while dodging invisible gangs fighting it out on rooftops in the completely flooded Lower 9th Ward. Since Frischling can't stop lying about Katrina, it's time to go fishing once again and see what we find. Just so you know, these incredible stories are all text and you will not find a single Frischling photo to illustrate these epic tales. Awww, why not? Because Steven Frischling refuses to provide any evidence of the photos he claims he took after Hurricane Katrina.

First, let's establish where Frischling was in late August/early September 2005. Easy enough as always, he was talking about himself online. We know that because, unlike him and his photos, we have the messages to prove it. Here's his activity on SportsShooter message boards alone - Frischling posted at least once in all of these threads during these days:

Therefore, he was somewhere with not only an Internet connection, but plenty of leisure time to spend online chatting about mundane, non-disaster situations. Not only that, on September 6, Frischling very specifically says "we" spent the morning gathering up all kinds of items to send "down" to Katrina victims. He was nowhere near New Orleans the week after Hurricane Katrina.

Frischling continues to chat about all sorts of items on the message board that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina and give no indication he plans to travel to the Gulf Coast, much less that he is currently anywhere near New Orleans. Two weeks after Katrina, on September 15, he mentions a travel plan one month away:

Over the past 10 years on SportsShooter, he's never mentioned his supposed time in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, nor any of the surely challenging and memorable photographic moments he experienced "covering" one of the most devastating disasters his country has ever seen. Most likely because his own postings on Sportsshooter in August and September 2005 very clearly demonstrate that he was not there:

He does mention floods twice and hurricanes three times, but all comments pre-date Hurricane Katrina. At one point, he pipes up to brag that a "flood rescue" photo of his ran "full page" in the National Enquirer (because they often give full pages to spot news) and also that the Discovery Channel Online hired him to photograph the New England Patriots in 1998 (lolwut?).

Fast forward a few years to 2009, after Frischling met the forum of his dreams, the single and available Twitter, where he discovered a new fresh audience to regale with his fantastic FishTales, in 160 characters or less. Though he's never mentioned being in New Orleans after Katrina on SportsShooter, he now won't shut the fuck up about it on Twitter. Almost four years after Katrina, in July 2009, Frischling says his boots that somehow miraculously "survived" Frischling's trip "covering" the War in Iraq his six-hour stay inside an Iraq airport under the control of British soldiers, the trusty boots had to be sadly thrown out after Katrina.

In August 2009, Frischling declares he was in New Orleans after the hurricane when he "picked up an infection" that was "NOT contagious."

And again he brings up his illness after that "pesky hurricane" Katrina, where for four days, he bravely worked through a fever fluctuating between 102F and 104F.

In 2010, Frischling complains that his imaginary photos from after TWA Flight 800 are with the AP, and that his Katrina photos "belong to" his former employer.

He then clarifies he does have his Katrina photos, but that they are on a "hard drive somewhere" the CDC will not permit people to go. (His CDC comment could be a joke about the state of his "office" or, knowing Frischling, he really could be implying the CDC has actually forbidden him from entering because of some tragic toxin it is currently investigating.)

What an incredible mystery it is why Frischling would a) store important photos on a single hard drive that he cannot easily find yet b) not have any online copies where people can see them and discuss them, such as Instagram. This from a person who claims to be both a professional photographer and an expert in social media.

Finally we get to our present era of #TTOT (Travel Talk on Twitter) and #TNI (Traveler's Night In). ##TTOT is a hugely popular chat supported by major travel brands. #TNI is a much less popular chat Frischling "hosts" in which he asks questions designed to elicit exciting answers from Steven Frischling about Steven Frischling. In July 2012, he now claims he witnessed Hurricane Katrina itself, not just the devastation afterward.

Not only that, in January 2014 he recalls how he developed an "unknown" "super" infection! Perhaps this "unknown" "super" infection was caused by the piscis bullshitia strain of bacteria? It does seem odd that back in 2009, he was able to say he was definitely "NOT contagious." Apparently the Frisching University School of Medicine teaches that a patient CANNOT spread an infection if nobody knows what it is or what caused it. Because science.

But oh how he suffered. This unknown super noncontagious superinfection was so serious he was suffering from a 103-degree fever that he now had for seven days! So which was it Steven? Four days or seven days? Four days is long enough with a 102, 103 or 104-degree fever, but seven whole days while you worked in 100-degree heat with no medical treatment whatsoever? You think you would remember that more clearly.

By February 2014, that fever has now increased to a stable 104F. It would appear Frischling was patient zero of the first "terribly" infection, which he came down with when he was stranded in New Orleans, burning with fever, unable to leave and unable to get medical help!

Frischling sure must be brave as the one bright side to his precarious plight is that, as we pointed out already, despite suffering from hyperthermia, he had the energy to post over and over on SportsShooter about things unrelated to hurricanes, flooding, or infections (including infections unknown and/or super). In May 2014, Frischling reveals his most unusual travel method was on a USCG SPC-AIR "through" the French Quarter.

What the hell is a SPC-AIR, you ask? No, not an airline named after Frischling called "Special" Airways ("We love to lie and it shows"). The Special Purpose Craft Airboats (SPC-AIR) are used by various Coast Guard units "in the execution of ice rescue missions, flood response, and are capable of operating over water, ice and short distances on land. Airboats are also used to get responders into shallow water areas and marsh areas where deep-draft vessels cannot go."

Well now, that's odd. Why would an airboat be traveling "through" land that remained, for the most part, DRY? Yes, the French Quarter was almost entirely dry after Katrina, because it was built on higher land that has historically allowed it to survive flooding. And it was dry after the storm because the heat at this time was so extreme it was killing people in New Orleans. Moisture quickly evaporates in 100-degree heat. Disgraced journalist Brian Williams was caught up in this lie as well when he claimed to have seen bodies floating in floodwater by his hotel in the French Quarter. Only about 9 percent of the French Quarter had any standing water.

So why would the hardworking Steven Frischling say he was cruising around through the French Quarter on a highly specialized boat? Because Frischling a) is lying, b) was nowhere near New Orleans around Katrina, and c) is describing his own elaborate fantasy, in which the French Quarter was flooded and he was hanging out with his Coast Guard buddies (boys, really).

A photo taken at 8:05 am the morning of August 30, 2005, shows limited flooding near Canal and Bourbon.
It's a good thing Frischling wasn't there, or else he might have gotten his shoes wet.

Seriously, does this look like something the men (boys, really) of the U.S. Coast Guard are going to drive across asphalt in triple-digit temperatures?

Happy lying!

PS As always, we'll take this post down if you can prove you were there, Fish. Show us your Katrina photos. Oddly there are none in your online portfolio... It shouldn't be that difficult to put a few up online, right?

The Steven Frischling Power Hour

Some guy named "ArtoftheImage" who apparently has no ability to Google did a one-hour interview with Steven Frischling about photography. It went exactly as you would expect.

In the first 10 minutes alone, Frischling claims:

• He first began shooting spot news at 10, on his bike, with a 1965 Nikkormat FS and Kodachrome (naturally)
• He claims he did a photography project for 20 airlines, when over the course of 12 days he went around the world shooting in 15 cities in 13 countries and all on two iPhones. (Where are these photos?) (Looks like he really did this. Word is execution of this project was exactly what you would expect from Steven Frischling.)
• His current work for spot news includes "abductions." (Where are these photos?)
• He lost his job at CRN because he was "downsized," as they merged the art director and photo director positions. LOL.
• He claims he did "social media" for Kodak from 1994 to 1999... (Apparently lying all day on AOL forums is considered social media, according to Frischling.)
• He did a "Photo of the Day" project for Discovery Channel and FedEx showed up at his house with a rare 6 mm Nikkor lens (recent price: $160,000) and a Post It note that simply said "Figure this out." (Where are these photos?)

And it goes on and on and on with ridiculous tales. This is all so believable, isn't it? Let's take a look at his claim that he was "downsized" from CRN.

On two forums, he claims he voluntarily "quite" before he was about to be laid off (which makes so much sense, since layoffs from a major corporation usually go with severance packages! How does not getting a severance package "work out well" for him?). He claims he had to travel so much and he wanted to be with his son who "barely knew" him and his imaginary wife was getting "stretched to thing":

"I ended up quitting my job as a Director of Photography overseeing 5 international business magazines (worked out well as my job was about to be made 'redundant'). I quite because I wanted to be with my son and he barely knew me, and my wife was really getting stretched to thing." Sep 10, 2008 12:04

Five months later, the story has changed. On the SAME forum he now claims he resigned because of the "extreme pressure" for him to implement Work for Hire contracts for his "photogs," which he refused to do, because of his incredible integrity:

"Do NOT take it. Work For Hire is bad for you, bad for business, bad for the industry. At $5k per shoot WFH is bad for business. I actually left my job as a magazine director of photography, overseeing multiple international business magazines, in part because of the extreme pressure to implement a WFH contract. I'd be paying $750+ for the shoots, and as the person in charge I fought it and refused to issue it to my photogs." Feb 21, 2009 16:26

Now the story has changed and he was downsized, and the two positions merged into one. He said the same thing here on Twitter. That's odd - why was he quickly replaced by someone else with the same job title? Another photographer was hired and stayed for six+ years. That's a long time to be at a company where the job you do doesn't exist...

Perhaps the most ridiculous claim is around 26:30 when he brags that his daughter was a published photographer at age 4. Seriously. Somehow when he wasn't looking, apparently his 4-year-old daughter took his camera and took a picture that was chosen as a magazine cover and he only realized later that it wasn't his photo. And he gets some "demented pleasure" from his daughter "dodging junkies" shooting housefires. Who is Art of the Image and how is he so gullible as to believe this?

Happy lying!

The FishFraud Fan's Essential Pocket Guide

Guess what everyone! We just inked a deal with a major international company to author a book, a 135-page guide to the great adventures of Steven Frischling! This deal was inked after months and months of negotiating, ironing out details, and thumb wrestling. This was not a book we wrote and pitched, but were approached by said international company, therefore, they are at the mercy of our busy schedule doing nothing. The first draft of the first chapter is due January 2050.

The book will be called The FishFraud Fan's Essential Pocket Guide and all content will be essential and pocketable. We need help putting it together of course as it's impossible to write 135 pages without help, we'll keep this article pinned to the top of the blog as it expands. We'll divide it into sections and sort by theme.

Frischling adventures

• being assaulted by an umbrella-wielding gigantic Hugh Grant on a movie set
• being shot nine times
• being exposed to anthrax
• Department of Homeland Security is monitoring his email
• being threatened with treason
• his many, many, many accidents and illnesses
• Being beaten up by a New York City police officer with whom he had 27 "run-ins"
• Being a professional snowboarder
• His claims of being molested by a former member of the Coast Guard and then doing his own investigation, and finding "at least 80 victims"
• The time he arrived on the scene of an accident where there were "litterally" 16 police cars, yet Frischling "took control" of the accident scene from the incompetent police until the fire department could arrive.
• How he drove 200 miles in under an hour to get to Ground Zero on 9/11
• A photographer from The New York Times destroying Frischling's photo gear, not once but twice
• Being sickened after an exposure to an "airborne pathogen" after Hurricane Katrina
• He was an EMT/firefighter who had "water rescue training" and for some reason was issued a gun.

Frischling photos: MIA

Part of the book will be placeholders of course, blank pages representing some of his most dramatic adventures that he has no photos of, for some bizarre reason.

• his "homocide" photos from the "murder capital" of the USA
• the time he flew on Air Force One with Al Gore
• His photos of Coast Guard men ("boys, really") holding each other over "stacks" of body bags after TWA Flight 800 exploded
• The missing photos from Iraq
• His photos from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, where he claimed to be a "Photo Team Leader"
• The photos that back up his claim of being in "dozens" of riots
• Post-Katrina photos of New Orleans
• The Oklahoma City bombing photos he claims he took

What is your "favourite" Frischling tale?

Happy Lying, folks!