A representative from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department gave Vanity Fair the following statement regarding the documents:
Some of the documents appear to be copies of reports that were authored by Sheriff’s Office personnel as well as evidentiary photographs taken by Sheriff’s Office personnel interspersed with content that appears to be obtained off the Internet or through unknown sources. The Sheriff’s Office did not release any of the documents and/or photographs to the media. The Sheriff’s Office released all of its reports and the photographs as part of the required discovery process to the prosecution and the defense.
The word hoax is not used, but what exactly would you call adding material to official reports with the apparent intent to make the reader believe that the added material is part of the original?
