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Kaufman, not Kaufmann - author mistaken as Duterte's lawyer

Kaufman, not Kaufmann - author mistaken as Duterte's lawyer

Provided by INQUIRER.net.

American author swarmed by Duterte supporters due to name mix-up
Photo on the left shows Nicholas Kaufman, former President Rodrigo Duterte's ICC lawyer, while the photo on the right shows American author Nicholas Kaufmann. (Photo from ICC/Facebook)



MANILA, Philippines— “It’s insane!”

American author Nicholas Kaufmann found himself in the middle of a social media mix-up as supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte sent him a deluge of messages.

They apparently mistook him for Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lawyer at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

The two men's name sounded the same, except that the author's name has double letter "n" in his surname.



On his Facebook account, the writer describes how overwhelmed he is following the surge in the number of  messages he received.

“I am being absolutely flooded today with followers and commenters from the Philippines who, I guess, don’t believe I’m not Duterte’s lawyer," he recently posted.

READ: DDS confessions Facebook page from India wrongfully attacked by Duterte cult online

"Our names aren’t even spelled the same (he’s Kaufman with one N). It’s insane,” the author further lamented.

American author Nicholas Kaufmann who has been mistaken as the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (Screengrab for the author's Facebook page)
American author Nicholas Kaufmann, who has been mistaken for the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (Screengrab from the author's Facebook page)



 

On March 21, he pinned a message saying –

“PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

I AM NOT THE ICC LAWYER NICHOLAS KAUFMAN WHO IS REPRESENTING
PRESIDENT DUTERTE! PLEASE STOP MESSAGING ME!”

Photo shows the Facebook page of American author Nicholas Kaufmann who has been mistaken as the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (Screengrabbed from the author's Facebook page on April 2, 2025.)
Photo shows the Facebook page of American author Nicholas Kaufmann, who has been mistaken for the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (Screengrab from the author's Facebook page on April 2, 2025.)



In the comment section of the author's post, a certain Alex Kaufmann, whose surname is the same as the author, asked: “Are they pro or anti?”

The author replied that at first, the messages came from Duterte supporters.

But then, he started getting comments from persons who are against the former president as well.

The senders of anti-Duterte messages were saying sorry to him.

They told the author that some those behind the pro-Duterte messages were supposedly just bots or trolls.

“They started out pro-Duterte, but lately, I’m getting some anti-Duterte commenters apologizing for the others and calling many of them bots,” he said.

Photo shows the Facebook page of American author Nicholas Kaufmann who has been mistaken as the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (Screengrabbed from the author's Facebook page on April 2, 2025.)
Photo shows the Facebook page of American author Nicholas Kaufmann, who has been mistaken for the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (Screengrabbed from the author's Facebook page on April 2, 2025.)


Kaufman and Kaufmann


Kaufmann is a horror, urban fantasy and adventure fiction author. He wrote a critically acclaimed piece called General Slocum’s Gold for which he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award.

He also wrote Chasing Dragon for which he was nominated for the International Thriller Writers Award and the Shirley Jackson Award.

He was also nominated for the Dragon Award for 100 Fathoms Below.

Meanwhile, Kaufman, Duterte's lead counsel in the ICC, is a British-Israeli lawyer — one of the few accredited attorneys of the international tribunal.

In 2020, Duterte supporters made a similar mistake when they spammed a “DDS Confession” Facebook page.

It turned out that it was the page of Daisy Dales Senior Secondary School in India.

In reaction, the owner of the page posted: “For the love of whatever you guys worship—Please stop.”

 

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