Radio trolls

Although the other side of the Navy's encounter in the Straits of Hormuz the other day has been discussed in a lot of places, I haven't yet heard anything about it in the major media, and too many are taking the 'attack threat' from the Iranian military at face value.

Many reports say the radio transmission heard on the ship probably came from pranksters, not an Iranian military vessel. Several stories, like this one at gCaptain blog, discuss a common name for these radio harassers as the 'Filipino Monkey': The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…).

Today the AP reports on it, too: WGulf Prankster at Issue in Iran Dispute.

Several Navy ship drivers interviewed by Navy Times are raising the possibility that the Monkey, or an imitator, was indeed featured in that video.

Also: The Navy Times discussed the 'Filipino Monkey' connection this weekend. And in the UK, the Register reported Friday: US-Iranian naval clash: Radio trolls probably to blame.