This incident is being intensely hashed over at Freerepublic.com, among other places. The question you raised is one among many. While those folks seem a bit on the edge--I don't have anywhere close to the bandwidth to follow their stuff--they are legion and when they start digging, they find stuff. The fake Wilkinson was revealed largely due to their efforts.

I notice a great many of the controversies currently chewing up the front pages are based on unnamed sources.

I'm wondering how hard it is to set yourself up as a credible anonymous source in the current news-hungry environment. We already have several examples of agenda-crazed media snapping up juicy items without bothering to check on them.

This could wind up being something big.