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Milo Yiannopoulos says his 44 interns research and fact-check items for him, but two sources for BuzzFeed claim otherwise.

(Screenshot via Twitter)

The byline of a senior tech editor for Breitbart News may be the collective work of 44 different people, according to a report by BuzzFeed News. No, it's no April Fool's Day joke (unless it is).

Rather, Milo Yiannopoulos has confirmed to the publication that he employs just that many interns -- some of whom were recruited from online forum 4chan -- to help him research and fact-check posts he publishes on the right-leaning politics blog.

But sources for BuzzFeed, according to reporter Joseph Bernstein, claim that interns take on the brunt of the work. A former intern and another person who has worked with Yiannopoulos both in and outside of Breitbart provided Bernstein with screenshots and video of conversations between Yiannapoulos and his supposed ghostwriters on Slack, a messaging app.

BuzzFeed reports that the chat -- nicknamed PROJECT MILO -- isn't affiliated with Breitbart. Instead, it's a group of unpaid interns Yiannopoulos manages on his own.

In the video obtained by BuzzFeed, Yiannopoulos allegedly asks his interns to write speeches poking fun at feminism, the wage gap and campus rape culture.

For his part, Yiannopoulos seems to have taken a liking to the publicity:

Much of Twitter has also cracked a joke or two about the revelation.

I guess this is a good time to admit that I am, and have actually been this whole time, 17 dogs — Griffin's Cool 2018 Tweets (@griffinmcelroy) April 1, 2016

44: Number of interns needed to write a Breitbart column

44: Number of presidents needed to run the world's greatest democracy for 240 years — Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) April 1, 2016

Congratulations to @TayandYou on its new job as tech editor for Breitbart — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) April 1, 2016

Worse news: I *am* real. — Chris Kohler (@kobunheat) April 1, 2016

That last remark is a play on "ethics in games journalism," the rallying cry some of Yiannopolous' followers adopted during a series of campaigns the Breitbart editor said were meant to humiliate "angry feminists" and "unethical journalists." Those sorts of actions have earned Yiannopolous a reputation among tech sites, particularly those that cover video games.

The Breitbart editor, along with reporters and managers from various other media outlets, participated in a Society of Professional Journalists' panel addressing those ethics claims in November. The event was cancelled halfway through after a bomb threat was called in.

--Eder Campuzano

503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com