This is wrong on so many levels. Someone correct this or ramifications will be distributed: http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/chieftan

Apr 1, 2012

@ChieftanMews: This is wrong on so many levels. Someone correct this or ramifications will be distributed: http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/chieftan

Chieftan Mews interrupted his Q&A with a link to Websters Online Dictionary (Not to be mistaken with the official Merriam-Webster Website ) where they provided the following definition of ‘Chieftan’

“Chieftan” is a common misspelling or typo for: chieftain, chieftains, chief tan.

Common Expressions: chieftan

Expressions : Definition
Chieftan Mews : Chieftan Mews is an english actor employed by Radiohead to present The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time. He is currently on the run and believed to be hiding out in Tunisia. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Common Expressions: chieftan
Expressions : Definition
Chieftan Mews : Chieftan Mews is an english actor employed by Radiohead to present The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time. He is currently on the run and believed to be hiding out in Tunisia. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
Top

The entry for Chieftan was added by Philip M. Parker the editor and creator of the Websters Online Dictionary, and while no references are linked it’s possible he had been reading AtEase which had a news item on the 15th of December 2004 stating:

A recent report indicated that Chieftan may have been spotted in Tunisia….

The report refers to http://www.ChieftanMews.com which in 2004 was owned by the band and appeared to have contained various messages from Chieftan Mews before redirecting to http://www.Radiohead.tv

Since 2009 ChieftanMews.com is again an active URL but doesn’t appear to be owned by Radiohead or anyone associated with them.

While no correction has been made in the past 10 years to update the fact that Chieftan Mews is not a actor nor employed by Radiohead the nature of the web means that those ‘facts’ have now been cited widely online with QWika and tvwiki where someone has added:

Chieftan Mews is an english actor employed by Radiohead to present The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time. While talking, his mouth often moves and rolls in unnatural ways, leading some to believe he is not human. He is currently on the run and believed to be hiding out in Tunisia.

Throughout the filming of “Radiohead.tv”, Singer Thom Yorke and presenter Chieftan Mews apparently got in a fist fight of sorts. According to Yorke, “Mews (Chieftan) just grabbed me during teatime and proceeded to scream into my face about paying him his damn money”. At this point, York responded by kicking Mews in the face, resulting in a broken nose. The flurry of punches that ensued by both men had to be broken up by Producer Nigel Godrich.

While Mew’s instructs someone to correct the errors unlike Wikipedia the Websters Online Dictionary is not editable by just anyone, instead edits are made by emailing the editor. Being a Hotmail address it’s possible the email no longer works today.

In December 2010 Tunisia hit headlines around the world due to massive protests helped in part by social networking bringing about a democratic revolution inspiring neighboring countries including Egypt and Libya in what came to be known as the Arab Spring movement. On the 8th of February 2011 Ed O’Brien posted his own feelings towards The Dignity Revolution (as the Tunisian revolution had come to be called) on Dead Air Space adding:

What have twitter and facebook ever done for us?

Obviously, keeping in touch with everyone but I have to say I have become increasingly excited over the last 3 months about the possibilities of this form of communication.Yes I am very slow out of the blocks. It’s in the arena of public protest that it seems twitter and facebook are increasingly the means by which popular movements throughout the world are able to come together and mobilise.

I have been so moved by the peaceful Jasmine revolution in Tunisia; The anti-Government demonstrations centred on Tahrir Square in Cairo.. Social networking has helped facilitate the freedom to assemble peacefully and express oneself. Equally in Britain it seems to be having a similar effect in helping essential protests being organised by students and groups such as UK Uncut against the Government’s ill thought out cuts … Well done those people!
Ed

afp

Mew’s current status image on Twitter and Facebook is a inverted screenshot of him from the Thumbs Down Webcast in 2007 titled afp.jpg

Returned to it’s original form it looks like:

It’s not the first time Mew’s has toyed around with his display picture.

afp is the initials of Atoms for Peace the band formed by Thom Yorke, Nigel and Flea from The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Nigel was reported to be mastering their album over the holidays.

Compulsive Liar.

@ChieftanMews: Remember: 99 percent of everything on the internet is a lie.

Mew’s often calls himself a liar, this comes back to his first days as the host of The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time in 2003.

This gives the impression that everything Mews says can not be trusted.

However the dilemma comes from the fact that while Mews IS most certainly a compulsive liar he is also a unofficial spokesperson for Radiohead within the fan community.

The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time?

How do you know when someone’s telling the truth? Let alone a non-verified twitter account by a self confessed liar?

Ever since the discussions started people have questioned the authenticity of Mews, the matter growing more complicated as fakes and copycats emerged. Yet there is strong evidence that Mews is genuine.

1. Followers and Following:
On the day The King of Limbs was released Chieftan Mew’s only had 100 or so followers and was only following a couple of accounts (at the time Stanley Donwood and Radiohead) while he has a bad habit of deleting past tweets he had tweets from as far back as 2010 – long before TKOL was released.

A few days after the discussions started on forums and Mew’s follower count had climbed over 300 Mew’s left the following message:

Mob Likens Fight ** If XXXX Links, Beg ** Fib Me, Ghost Link! ** ␄

After which his account was set to private. Possibly this was to avoid the media following him as being private allows him to accept or deny each follow request and offers him the ability to send them messages.

2. Timezones:
Mew’s tends to be quite regular about tweeting, however he will tweet earlier or later depending on movements, while Radiohead where in the USA he was tweeting a day later then when he was in Europe.

3. Language:
From the very first video Mew’s has had a unique way of speaking which has been translated to twitter. He often mixes up song lyrics or obscure references to places, band trivia and recordings both new and old. While some have attempted to parody and copy his style (see Chieftan Meows for one hilarious example) inside knowledge such as the exact meaning of Ims Menoo/Ers Menoo and their use quickly separates Mews from imitators.

4. Operator 3:
Lurker originally posted this discussion with a W.A.S.T.E customer support person last year:

[Visitor] is the twitter account “ChieftanMews” http://twitter.com/#!/ChieftanMews in any way affiliated with the band. the reason i ask, this account accurately predicted radiohead’s “japanese tweet” as well as the video for lotus flower
[Operator 3]we know of chieftan mews
[Visitor] so this isn’t a troll?
[Operator 3] no, this is all i can say

5. Stanley Donwood:
Stanley has referenced Mew’s a number of times in tweets (and Mew’s has returned the favour in kind) with the two giving some amusing banter on who is following who.

Joining Facebook:
Mew’s Joined Facebook late last year as ‘The Chieftan Mews’ as his usual title was already taken by a impersonator. As with his first tweets his first two posts consisted of links to himself on The Greatest Lying Mouth of All Time followed by similar to identical messages to those posted on Twitter. He’s also been known to like posts and send messages bringing his activity in line with that on Twitter.