Here’s the guy who unwittingly live-tweeted the raid on Bin Laden

[kpete]

Here’s the guy who unwittingly live-tweeted the raid on Bin Laden


by Mike Butcher on May 2, 2011

Yesterday Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual on Twitter) was just a “an IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains”, specifically Abbottabad, northern Pakistan.

The IT contractor and graduate of Preston University (which would account for his excellent British-sounding English) also says he’s a ‘startup specialist’ on his LinkedIn profile.

But today he will become known as the guy who, while live-tweeting a series of helicopter flypasts and explosion, unwittingly covered the US forces helicopter raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound. And he knows it.

Here’s a selection of his Tweets:
MORE:
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/heres-the-guy-who-unwittingly-live-tweeted-the-raid-on-bin-laden/
Osama Bin Laden is dead: Here's how Twitter broke the news live
Chap liveblogs historic event without even knowing
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/39806/twitter-reveals-bin-laden-death

[Skinner]

1. Whoa.

I think that shows how connected the world has become. Pretty amazing.

[TrogL]

2. Craftygal's been following him

He had to turn off his "new person following me" notification because he was getting swamped.

[KurtNYC]

3. interesting

instant unwitting journalism. The way of the future.

[lonestarnot]

4. Not a tweeter, find it amusing.

[yodermon]

5. So a helicopter went down? Whose helicopter? anyone killed?

Do the details from these tweets square with the media reports?

[Skinner]

6. FWIW

I think it's possible that a dude tweeting from inside his house at 1 am might not get all the facts exactly right.

[yodermon]

8. lol, ok this is true. n/t

[IrishBuckeye]

12. One of the heli's stalled out and the military has to destroy it with bombs/ nm

/nm

[highplainsdem]

7. See replies 58, 59 & 61 in this topic collecting tweets - those tweets & Russert & Olbermann's

reactions:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1003335

[JackRiddler]

11. Bin Ladin is dead and Russert's alive? Will miracles never cease.

[AngryAmish]

9. I'm sorry, this story just puts a smile on my face

There is this dude who is utterly anonymous and hurts no one. Then - boom - he is an international celebrity. Very "Life of Brian."

[fishwax]

10. wow, that's a bit crazy

:kick: