Bert Is Evil - Notoriety

Notoriety

The very first mirror, maintained by Dennis Pozniak, became the most popular by continuing where Ignacio left off by adding new "evidence" of Bert's evilness (such as Bert's connection to the Ramsey Family and infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper). In late 1998 Pozniak posted a contribution submitted by humorist J-roen photoshopped to depict a then relatively unknown international terrorist, Osama bin Laden, posing with Bert.

In 2001, an undoctored Reuters news photograph was published showing a pro-Osama bin Laden protest rally in Bangladesh. One protester is seen holding a large collage-style poster of bin Laden with a small image of Bert over his right shoulder – the same image posted to the Bert mirror in 1998 – which prompted much confusion and joking among Western audiences. Being unaware of Sesame Street, Dhaka printer Mostafa Kamal had copied the collage from the World Wide Web, leaving the image of Bert in his collage.

After this photo was released on the news wires, the owners of Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop, raised the possibility of pursuing legal action against Ignacio. In response, he took down the "Bert is Evil" section of his website, also stating that he did not want to undermine the character in the eyes of children who watched Sesame Street. "I am doing this because I feel this has gotten too close to reality", he said. Since the original Bert/Osama picture had been posted to Dennis Pozniak's mirror, he too was bombarded by the international media seeking interviews. As a result of all the attention Pozniak also closed his mirror.