Shane Morris is a Nashville-based web developer who created a viral Twitter hoax story about drug trafficking a kilo of heroin and conning an MS-13 gang member. He has since revealed the entire story was a lie, and has launched a GoFundMe asking for money to help he and his wife “disappear.”
In his Medium post where he admits he made the whole story up, Morris offers a brief auto-biography, writing in part,
The truth about me is so vanilla, it hurts. The harsh reality is that when I was in my early 20s, I liked camping and hiking. Then I became a mid-level music blogger in my mid 20s. Then I became a mid-level record label guy in my late 20s. Now, in my early 30s, I write software for insurance agencies. Not much about me is legendary, aside from my imagination. I’m a boring married guy with a hound dog, who loves history podcasts.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Morris Wrote a Twitter Thread About Drug Trafficking & Conning an MS-13 Member
In a Twitter thread that’s since been retweeted over 68,000 times, Morris shared a story (one that he claimed to be true at the time) in which he claimed he “accidentally smuggled a kilo of heroin” after finding it in a rental car, eventually ripping off an MS-13 member in the process.
Throughout the thread, there are a number of photos of Morris on an apparent road trip. Following the thread’s popularity on Twitter, Morris revealed that he had been contacted by a number of Hollywood agents. In one tweet, Morris showed that his thread had received 1.2 million impressions on Twitter, writing, “This must be what be what it feels like to be a Kardashian. For the next 12 hours or so, please read all my responses in your head with a Kardashian vocal fry tone.”
Morris then revealed he intended to write a screenplay, tweeting, “So obviously… I write. (I think we’ve established this.) But I have never written a screenplay. However, there are a ton of good guides out there, so I can write it in the correct format, etc. In light of all the positive feedback, I’m going to write a screenplay.”
2. Morris Admitted the Story Was a Complete Lie in a Medium Post
Four days after the Twitter thread was released, Morris released a Medium post in which he wrote,
“The story you just read about two guys finding a kilo of heroin on an epic road trip, selling it, and then one of the protagonists going back a year later to sell the van and a fake kilo of heroin to a drug dealer? It’s a lie. I made the whole thing up. Most importantly, I definitely didn’t rob an MS-13 gang member. In retrospect, that’s probably the dumbest thing you can write and put on the internet.”
As for why Morris wrote the thread to begin with, he claimed that another of his threads, in which he told the apparently true story of how he accidentally ingested eight grams of mushrooms, had inspired him to try to tell another equally creative story. Morris wrote, “…I wanted to see if I could tell an even more outlandish story. I did it because I wanted to showcase my writing abilities, and get attention.”
3. Morris Has Since Established a GoFundMe for Hiding From MS-13
Following his admission of lying about the whole thing, Morris posted a request for people to support his GoFundMe, claiming that he and his wife now had to go into hiding from MS-13 after his Twitter thread. Though he has since taken his tweet down in which he posted about the GoFundMe, the GoFundMe page itself is still up.
The $20,000 goal is for the effort of “disappearing,”he explains, writing further,
I need money to relocate — both me and my wife. I got a book called “How To Disappear”, and suffice to say, disappearing isn’t cheap. I have to go through great lengths, cover great distances, and change my appearance. This also goes for my wife. This isn’t like when you’re hiding a piece of brocolli in your milk when you’re a kid. We’re two whole people.
Normally, I’d outline cost estimates for what everything is going to cost, (per the GoFundMe rules,) but that really defeats the purpose of not leaving a paper trail.
I recognize I’m only in this position because of my own vanity and stupidity, but I’m hoping you’ll want me to live long enough to maybe have a shot at making a movie out of the story you enjoyed.
4. Morris Wrote Another Viral Twitter Thread in March About Lil Nas
In March, Morris wrote another viral thread in which he argued that Lil Nas fell off of the Billboard country charts for racist reasons.
Morris wrote in part,
What’s the difference between Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Lil Nas X? Lil Nas X doesn’t play guitar. Just kidding. Well, I mean, he still doesn’t play guitar, but the real problem here is that Lil Nas X is a black man, from Black Hollywood, AKA Atlanta…By removing Lil Nas X from the Country Charts, the powers that be (and yes, I’m openly saying the Country music industry operates like the mafia) continue what they want country music to sound like, and more importantly… LOOK like. Because this isn’t about sound. At all.
Morris was quoted in a number of publications for this thread, including The Huffington Post, NPR, and Vulture.
5. Morris Runs a Blog That Covers the Gamut, From Politics to Music
You can learn more about Morris on his blog, ShaneMorris.one. One of his more recent posts is titled, “Joe Biden is the Coors Light of Candidates,” and another post is titled, “How Censorship Really Works on the Internet.”