This past week, the Times of London sought out former New York mayor Bill de Blasio for comment on the current New York City mayor’s race. Amusingly, they instead contacted Long Island wine importer Bill DeBlasio, who was happy to reply. Only after the article went to print did their error come to light.

DeBlasio knew what was up, and opted not to correct the reporter’s misapprehensions. However, he states he also never lied, nor claimed to be the former mayor. That seems sporting to me, and it’s certainly good fodder for this website.

However, the thing that really caught my eye came from a Semafor piece covering the mishap. It’s emphasized in the quote below:

“I’m Bill DeBlasio. I’ve always been Bill DeBlasio,” DeBlasio said in an interview conducted Wednesday evening through his Ring doorbell in Huntington Station, Long Island, from his current location in Florida.

I really had to stop and think about how exactly an interview conducted through a Ring doorbell could make sense. I believe it means a Semafor reporter went to DeBlasio’s home in Huntington Station and rang the doorbell. DeBlasio then answered remotely, from Florida. He could see and hear the reporter (via the Ring’s camera and microphone), and the reporter could hear him (via the Ring’s speaker).

This is both very inefficient (the reporter would ideally have simply called DeBlasio without a trip out to Long Island) and also very weird.