From Yahoo! News:
French celebrity intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy has been caught red-faced quoting a “Botulist” philosopher who, it turns out, was invented as a joke by a journalist from a satirical weekly.
In his new book, “De la guerre en philosophie” (Making war in philosophy), Levy cites the insights of Jean-Baptiste Botul to show that German philosopher Immanuel Kant was not the bright light that some believe.
He has since discovered, however, that Botul is a fictional character, created as a literary satire by journalist Frederic Pages, who writes for the tongue in cheek Le Canard Enchaine.
Levy admitted he had often quoted Botul's work “The sex life of Immanuel Kant” during public appearances and now in the pages of his latest book.
“As it turns out, it was a hoax,” admitted the author in a statement posted late Monday on the website of his magazine, La Regle du Jeu.
“It was a truly brillant and very believable hoax from the mind of a Le Canard Enchaine journalist, who remains a good philosopher all the same,” said Levy, known by his initials BHL.
“So I was caught, as were the critics who reviewed the book when it came out,” he wrote. “The only thing left to say, with no hard feelings, is kudos to the artist!”
More here.