Earlier this week, REDBROWARD revealed the Broward Teachers Union (BTU) website featured fake teacher testimonials to promote union boss Anna Fusco. The website passed off stock images and website template placeholders as local teachers thanking BTU and Fusco for their help. A day later, BTU scrubbed the fake testimonials from the website. But on Thursday the phony testimonials were back.
Now, BTU laughably claims it intended to use the fake names and images all along. Under the heading, WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY ABOUT BTU, the union admits the testimonials are fake. The union added this disclaimer:
“(Names and photos have been replaced to protect the privacy of actual members).”
Why does BTU have to protect the privacy of actual members?
Even if they chose to protect the privacy of actual members, why not use initials and no pictures instead of fake names and stock photographs?
The Broward Teachers Union (BTU) quietly removed portions of its website Wednesday after REDBROWARD exposed numerous testimonials by fake teachers. The website prominently featured quotes from four teachers who praised BTU and union boss Anna Fusco. REDBROWARD revealed the four teachers did not exist.
A simple search showed all four “teachers” were stock characters used in website building templates.
On Wednesday, BTU removed the testimonial section from the main page of its website.
Luckily, the screenshots of “Kelvin,” “Zasha Swan,” “Frank Jones,” and “Jack Brownn” will last forever.
Below is our original story.
The Broward Teachers Union (BTU) website uses stock photographs and fake testimonials from non-existent teachers to promote the union president. The BTU website features four “teachers” thanking Anna Fusco for helping them get out of trouble at work. Just one problem, none of these teachers exist in the real world.
In the first testimonial, a teacher named Kevin states, “I was worried about losing my job, Anna came to my achool and to my defense and saved my career.”
Zasha Swan states, “The professional development that BTU provided saved me time and money, and I learned a lot.”
Teacher Frank Jones states, “My principal heard BTU was coming to my meeting, miraculously the issue was resolved in advance.”
And teacher Jack Brownn writes, “The BTU has been my backbone throughout my career. Their tireless efforts in negotiating for better working conditions have allowed me to focus on what matters most—providing quality education to my students.”
Kelvin, Zasha Swan, Frank Jones and Jack Brownn do not exist. These four individuals are not teachers in Broward County schools. None of these four individuals are members of the Broward Teachers Union.
Kelvin Black, Zasha Swan, Frank Jones and Jack Brownn are fictitious. They are stock characters used as placeholders on website building templates. The images of all four individuals are available to purchase from stock photography websites.
Other websites using these same exact names and photographs claim Kelvin Black lives in Dallas, Zasha Swan lives in Australia, Frank Jones lives in Japan while Jack Brownn resides in London.
Instead of using testimony from actual teachers, the BTU simply removed the location of the fictional characters. Who crafted these fake (and poorly written) testimonials?
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