Fake ‘Somali Pirates’ Dupe Western Journalists

The Somali coast is known as a haven for pirates. And journalists have long clamored to get those pirates to tell their stories.

So, this is where a group of enterprising Kenyans comes in.

They’ve made themselves a small fortune pretending to be Somali pirates.

A man named Adnan told Channel 4 that he could make up to $200-a-day, acting like a desperate Somali driven to piracy.

“The boss come to us and tell us, you know, ‘the guys, the white man has come we need pirates, you know,’ so he say, ‘assume to be pirates,'” Adnan said.

Adnans said the way it works is that a “fixer” drives westerners around a sprawling suburb of Nairobi, Kenya, looking for elusive pirates.

The area is home to a large Somali community.

The interviews with the fake pirates have made it into the venerable pages of Time magazine and have been broadcast in documentaries, one of which was reportedly shown in some 18 countries across the world.

One Czech film maker who was duped says he’s now making another documentary… about Kenyans tricking journalists.