Bjørn Benkow

Bjørn Leo Benkow (born February 13, 1940) is a Norwegian journalist that became infamous for his notoriously fakings of interviews with celebrities. Among the persons Benkow claimed to have interviewed are Bill Gates, Michael Schumacher, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Thatcher, all of them denying that the interviews took place. [ [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1412425.ece Admits to fiction - Aftenposten.no ] ] Benkow claimed that he inteviewed Michael Schumacher in his home in Switzlerland and Bill Gates on a plane to Munich, among other things. In reality, he fabricated the interviews in his own home. He sold his fabricated interviews to several Scandinavian newspapers.

There was suspicion he had fabricated an interview with Margaret Thatcher already in 1992, Thatcher denying that an alleged interview took place. In the summer of 2006, it was revealed that Benkow had fabricated several interviews. After spokespersons of severeal of the celebrities had denied that such interviews took place, Benkow admitted to having fabricated the interviews.

His uncle is the politician Jo Benkow [ [http://www.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2007/05/07/499914.html Juksemaker'n - portrettet - Dagbladet.no ] ] . His grandfathers original name was Chaim Eliah Benkowitz, but he changed the name to Benkow after settling in Norway around 1900 due to anti-semitism in his native Russia.

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