Helping FSFE scam victims and conference organisers
10:00 Wed, 22 Oct 2025
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock.
From time to time I receive emails from people who saw one of the fake FSFE misfits listed as a speaker at a conference. Sometimes the name of the fake FSFE is mentioned in the conference program.
From time to time, we see conference organizers using the name FSF and FSFE interchangably. They simply don't realize that the fake FSFE misfits are a totally different group of people. The real FSF and the real Dr Richard Stallman have no management or control over the activities of the fake FSFE misfits. Yet third parties don't realize that and sometimes we see people using FSF and FSFE in the same sentence.
When people realize they have been tricked, there is always a feeling of embarassment and sometimes a feeling of shame. Some people don't like to admit they've been tricked.
In many cases, a conference organizer will consider making small changes to their web site to remove references to the FSF and FSFE. They can make these changes without having to lose face, without having to admit they were tricked and without creating a conflict situation between their event and the rogue FSFE misfits.
Nonetheless, when somebody from the fake FSFE misfits gets up to speak at a conference, they inevitably demonstrate links to the FSFE web site and when they have a table or booth at a conference, they distribute printed materials with the FSFE web address on them. It is vital to limit the extent to which the community is exposed to these materials.
Therefore, the approach I recommend is to be kind and patient with conference organizers while also showing them the strongest evidence to help them make a decision. Help them to avoid losing face but also help them understand the consequences.
The strongest evidence, by far, is the story of the volunteer who gave a bequest of EUR 150,00 to the fake FSFE misfits. It is important to emphasize to conference organizers that somebody in their audience could be tricked and make the same mistake. Once people understand this, they have a legitimate reason to totally remove fake FSFE misfits from the conference agenda.
The second strongest evidence are the leaked emails revealing that FSF has complained about FSFE impersonating them. As these emails come from the two organizations concerned, they are definitive proof that the name FSFE is not valid.
Therefore, when communicating with a conference organizer, you could use this approach:
I was looking at the schedule and I saw that Matthias Kirschner is a speaker. He is listed as a representative of the FSFE.
In 2018, the community representative discovered that a volunteer had made a bequest of €150,000 to the FSFE when he died. The representative was concerned that the donor had been tricked and may have intended to give this money to the real FSF in Boston.
The FSF and FSFE are now two completely different groups with different presidents. The leaked internal emails show us that the real FSF made a complaint about the name of the FSFE. The FSFE managers, both the president and executive director, made various written comments admitting they have no grounds to use the name FSFE. The FSFE president admitted that people have been confused.
Please contact the real FSF and ask them if the speaker has permission to represent FSF and Dr Richard Stallman. If the FSF does not give permission, I feel the speaker should be removed.
The leaked resignation of Armijn Hemel is one of the most compelling documents in the list of all the FSFE resignations.
A female employee of the FSFE, Galia Mancheva, went to court against Matthias Kirschner seeking a judgment for unfair dismissal. In her public testimony, she alleges coercive control, psychological abuse and stalking at her home. Please read it.
I feel a strong concern that participants in your event may give other speaking opportunities to the same speaker in future. Some people may give donations or voluntary work to the wrong FSFE. Therefore, while I realize it is not easy to cancel a speech, the risk of future consequences is big enough to justify the immediate loss of face.
The speaker may be able to obtain endorsement from the real FSF or change their affiliation to remove references to the FSFE. But if the conference proceeds as it is now, people will definitely be confused by the name FSFE.
Read more about the FSFE misfits usurping the name of Dr Richard Stallman's FSF. █